Dr Milan Milanović's Linkedin Analytics

𝗦𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗝𝗼𝗯𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗻𝗲. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻? The software engineering job market has transformed dramatically since its 2022 peak, with positions down 150%. Starting in late 2022, layoffs hit tech hard. Hiring slowed, and many junior and mid-level roles disappeared. Even experienced engineers felt the pressure. 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵. Also, AI forces us to learn new skills, while non-AI companies face tighter funding and stagnant compensation. Meta's recent message with layoffs was clear: "These were our lowest performers, good riddance." Companies now 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺-𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴. The era of being treated as "special little geniuses" with unlimited perks is over. How we can adapt as an engineer in 2025: 🔹 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲—𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀: Learn product thinking and business impact. 🔹 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀: Focus on the 2-3 initiatives your leadership cares about, not what engineers find interesting 🔹 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲: Tie your work directly to business metrics; vague "developer experience" improvements won't save you in layoffs 🔹 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗜-𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: Learn prompt engineering and use tools like GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, and Cody to multiply productivity. Be a master of vibe coding. 🔹 𝗖𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁: If you don't proactively abandon low-priority work, decisions will be made for you 🔹 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀, such as distributed systems, performance, infrastructure, security, and data engineering. These are difficult to automate and outsource. 🔹 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝘀: Create visibility for your contributions with weekly accomplishment emails to leadership 🔹 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆: Build relationships with high-performers in revenue-generating teams. This is probably the most important thing you can do. I've had several conversations with talented senior engineers struggling to find work for months. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱. If you have a stable job, please keep it and make yourself valuable. The engineers who will survive aren't the ones with the latest tech skills—they're the ones who will add value to their companies in 2025. Image: Visual Capitalist. #technology #softwareenginering #programming #coding #career

𝗦𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿 != 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿 Software Engineer == Problem Solver Don't attack problems with code Try first to understand them from a business perspective and then a technical perspective When you do this, make a plan for how to solve it Try to solve without coding The best code is not code If you must code, then do it Remember, 𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁 #softwareengineering #programming #developers #coding