In 2024, the expertise sector noticed but extra layoffs after huge cuts in 2022 and 2023. Although the tempo was considerably slower final 12 months, greater than 150,000 staff had been laid off throughout lots of of firms, in keeping with Layoffs.fyi, a website began through the COVID-19 pandemic to trace tech layoffs all over the world. The most important single reduce got here in August, when Intel reduce 15 p.c of its workforce—roughly 15,000 roles—by, for instance, consolidating its gross sales and advertising group. To begin the brand new 12 months, in January 2025, tech firms introduced one other 5,000 layoffs. Greater than half of those are from Meta’s 5 p.c workforce reduce.
Regardless of these numbers, nonetheless, engineers appear to be doing simply effective. U.S. employment for electrical engineers is anticipated to develop 9 p.c from 2023 to 2033, in contrast with 4 p.c for all occupations, in keeping with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). And amongst IEEE members, the median earnings of U.S. engineers and different tech professionals was US $174,161 in 2023, up 5 p.c from the 12 months prior, IEEE-USA’s annual survey present in September.
Extra not too long ago, the World Financial Discussion board’s Way forward for Jobs Report 2025, primarily based on 2024 knowledge, revealed that technology-related roles are the fastest-growing classes globally, with probably the most speedy development in demand anticipated for massive knowledge specialists, financial-technology engineers, AI specialists, and software program builders. The report additionally predicted development in engineering fields, together with environmental and renewable power, robotics, and electrotechnology engineering.
The upshot: Whereas many tech firms proceed to restructure, extremely expert tech consultants stay in demand.
Tech Expertise In Demand
The Way forward for Jobs Report additionally checked out expertise that employers throughout all industries think about vital. It discovered the largest enhance in three classes of expertise expertise: AI and large knowledge expertise, networks and cybersecurity, and expertise literacy.
The sectors of telecommunication and automotive and aerospace are notably considering AI and large knowledge expertise; one hundred pc of companies surveyed in these fields stated these expertise will develop in significance over the following 5 years.
Given these anticipated modifications, staff might want to obtain coaching to enhance their efficiency in present or new roles. For instance, 96 p.c of employers in telecommunications plan to upskill and reskill their workforces, the report discovered.
On the similar time, nontechnical expertise are additionally anticipated to rise in significance and complement expertise experience. It is going to be important for staff to be able to inventive considering, resilience, flexibility, and lifelong studying.
In reality, many firms at the moment have a look at nontechnical talents when hiring new engineers, says Julia Lapan, assistant dean for profession improvement on the College of Virginia College of Engineering & Utilized Science. Whereas technical know-how is vital for younger engineers, “the underside line is, as soon as college students get out into the working world, they’re going to should constantly study,” Lapan says. “All of us should be prepared to adapt.”
An Engineering Recruiter’s View
Though many firms have scaled again on hiring basically, the job market for electrical engineers within the United States stays aggressive, says George Santos, the managing director of the Naperville, Unwell.–primarily based recruiting agency 180 Engineering. “It’s a very good time to be an engineer,” he says.
In Santos’s expertise, these days there was extra demand for embedded and firmware engineers, and for these with controls or automation expertise. With the rise of good manufacturing comes refined equipment that entails many sensors and an abundance of knowledge transmission. Electrical engineers will “play a vital half” in constructing and sustaining these automated programs, says Santos, who anticipates development within the semiconductor and renewable power sectors as properly.
Based on surveyed employers, tech experience—reminiscent of the primary three rows—tops the record of expertise anticipated to extend in significance over the following 5 years.
Based on the BLS, demand for electrical and electronics engineers in semiconductor manufacturing is anticipated to develop by 15 p.c from 2023 to 2033—and the semiconductor business pays its EEs properly, with a median annual wage of almost $145,000. The BLS additionally initiatives that demand for EEs in photo voltaic and wind electrical energy technology will develop considerably over the identical time interval, although they continue to be a small portion of total employment.
Discovering a specialization might help new engineers get forward, Santos provides. “It’s going to make you extra worthwhile available in the market.” Having a background in one thing like energy electronics or embedded firmware will make a candidate stand out. “There’s not a complete lot of these of us round,” he says.
Return to Workplace
Past the industries or specialties, it’s clear the place engineers and tech staff are much less more likely to discover jobs in 2025: at dwelling.
Virtually 5 years after the COVID-19 pandemic made distant work ubiquitous, many tech firms are bringing their staff again to the workplace. Amazon and Dell, for instance, now require staff to work within the workplace 5 days per week. Many others, together with Apple, Google, and Meta have taken a hybrid strategy and require at the very least three days within the workplace every week.
The U.S. authorities has additionally adopted swimsuit, with the Trump administration’s return-to-office mandate issued on the primary day of Donald Trump’s second time period as president. As of Could 2023, roughly 21,000 electrical and electronics engineers had been employed by the federal authorities.
The push for in-person work, supposed to extend productiveness, is unpopular with many staff. In reality, these mandates could trigger high expertise to go away—a pattern already being seen at some highly effective tech firms.
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