Everyone keeps saying AI is replacing software engineers. But if that’s true… why are software engineering job postings at a 3-year high while tech companies are still laying people off? The reality is much more complicated than the headlines make it sound. In this video, I break down what’s actually happening in the 2026 tech job market, why companies are quietly rehiring engineers they previously laid off, and where the real demand is shifting inside software engineering. Here’s what I cover 👇 ✅ Why 52,000+ tech layoffs don’t tell the full story ✅ The hidden reason software engineering roles are still growing ✅ Why the “AI replaced engineers” narrative is already breaking down ✅ How companies are quietly rehiring former employees ✅ The difference between jobs getting eliminated vs jobs still exploding ✅ Why senior engineers are becoming even more valuable ✅ The real skills companies are hiring for in 2026 ✅ How to position yourself if you want to break into tech or level up your career 👋 about me I’m Maddy, a senior software engineer (prev. at Google), with prior internships at Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, IBM, and Amazon. Sharing my journey here - thanks for watching 🤍 🔗find me on other socials Instagram https://www.instagram.com/madeline.m.zhang/ LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/madelinemzhang/ Tiktok https://www.tiktok.com/@madeline.m.zhang Timestamps 0:00 Layoffs vs Hiring 1:34 Engineering Jobs 2:45 AI vs Engineers 5:00 Boomerang Hiring 6:49 Where Demand Is Going 8:45 How To Position Yourself 10:01 Final Thoughts 🔔 Subscribe for more AI, software engineering, and career growth content! disclaimer: views are all my own and do not represent any current / past employer(s) #softwareengineering #techlayoffs #ai #artificialintelligence #softwareengineer #programming #coding #developers #techjobs #careeradvice #aiengineering #machinelearning #llm #techcareer #codinglife #developer #systemdesign #cloudengineering #mlops #futureofwork #bigtech #amazon #google #meta #openai #anthropic #careergrowth #computerscience
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How do we know the jobs which are opening aren't just fake? As in, a job posting that is put up to give the appearance of growth, but no budget or intent to hire?
I have seen this multiple times in 2001, 2008 and now.
AI doesn’t replace the abilities of senior experts. AI is not reliable enough to automatically run production systems. AI is like a fast junior assistant that makes mistakes.
Let’s revisit in the first quarter of 2027
thankz for the such valuable insights mam, me being a IT undergrad trying to break in tech, this really brings a hope.
Girl, every one of your previous "jobs" were internships. Reporting that it’s the weirdest or worst hiring market you’ve seen in your (extremely) short career is next to comical.
Before you show 1. the openings are not ghost jobs and 1. statistics about people being actually hired in USA (not working visas). this is just hypothesis. Not fair to all listeners relying on your message.
Idk I disagree with the notion that the job market wants more specialists. I think the modern software engineer is more of a T-shaped dev with skills across cloud, devops, data engineering, etc. I say this because in my own work I find myself orchestrating agents, verifying data integrity, maintaining cloud infra, and sometimes even fine tuning models. Source: I'm one of the senior consultants you talked about in the video. (idk you though, nice to meet you and great video otherwise!)
JIm Carrey is my Favorite Senior Engineer ... 😅
Shame for those going into college for their degrees, what ever is happening now may be way different then current situation 4 years from now when they graduate
Informative
Graduated in December so I am a new grad looking for entry-level roles, thank you for this video!
You've always got great advice, Maddy!
I'm having a hard time believing that 3 year high after the 5 year low. When was this because I remember a point where job boards were nothing but DataAnnotation ads. Now listings are back but I still here of people applying for 600+ jobs before they get an interview when I used to simply update my resume and get 600 emails. And folks go back and forth on whether AI is taking jobs but I don't see how it's not at minimum eliminating new positions. With what I'm able to single handedly do with an agent a team of people is just overkill.
Please increase high paying white collar jobs 😭😭❤️
Good news!
In find this whole video to be baseless and almost sounds like paid propaganda. I know engineers and developers that are being forced out the door because their seniors are being given the choice to accept a pay raise, start folding llm systems into their stack and keep their mouths shut about their teams being hacked to pieces or take an early retirement.
Lies, lies and more lies.
Maddy ❤❤. Nós traga boas notícias...
Your insights and ability to communicate the intricate details are quite amazing. Finding the kernel (pun intended) of truth in the headlines of today is quite a challenge. One you consistently succeed at! Keep it up, love your videos. And that's from an old guy with 50+ years in IT!