In 2024, the know-how sector noticed but extra layoffs after huge cuts in 2022 and 2023. Although the tempo was considerably slower final yr, greater than 150,000 staff have been laid off throughout lots of of firms, in response to Layoffs.fyi, a web site began throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to trace tech layoffs world wide. 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 staff. To start out the brand new yr, 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, nevertheless, engineers appear to be doing simply wonderful. 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 response to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). And amongst IEEE members, the median revenue of U.S. engineers and different tech professionals was US $174,161 in 2023, up 5 p.c from the yr prior, IEEE-USA’s annual survey present in September.
Extra just lately, the World Financial Discussion board’s Way forward for Jobs Report 2025, primarily based on 2024 information, revealed that technology-related roles are the fastest-growing classes globally, with essentially the most fast development in demand anticipated for massive information specialists, financial-technology engineers, AI specialists, and software program builders. The report additionally predicted development in engineering fields, together with environmental and renewable vitality, 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 necessary. It discovered the largest enhance in three classes of know-how expertise: AI and massive information expertise, networks and cybersecurity, and know-how literacy.
The sectors of telecommunication and automotive and aerospace are notably concerned with AI and massive information expertise; 100% of companies surveyed in these fields stated these expertise will develop in significance over the subsequent 5 years.
Given these anticipated adjustments, 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 know-how experience. Will probably be important for staff to be able to inventive considering, resilience, flexibility, and lifelong studying.
In actual fact, many firms at present take a look at nontechnical skills 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 necessary for younger engineers, “the underside line is, as soon as college students get out into the working world, they’re going to need to constantly study,” Lapan says. “All of us need to be prepared to adapt.”
An Engineering Recruiter’s View
Though many firms have scaled again on hiring usually, 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 time to be an engineer,” he says.
In Santos’s expertise, currently there was extra demand for embedded and firmware engineers, and for these with controls or automation expertise. With the rise of sensible manufacturing comes subtle equipment that entails many sensors and an abundance of information 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 vitality sectors as nicely.
In line with surveyed employers, tech experience—akin to the primary three rows—tops the record of expertise anticipated to extend in significance over the subsequent 5 years.
In line with 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 trade pays its EEs nicely, with a median annual wage of almost $145,000. The BLS additionally tasks 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 general employment.
Discovering a specialization may also help new engineers get forward, Santos provides. “It’s going to make you extra helpful 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 people 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 no less than 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 Might 2023, roughly 21,000 electrical and electronics engineers have been employed by the federal authorities.
The push for in-person work, supposed to extend productiveness, is unpopular with many staff. In actual fact, these mandates might trigger high expertise to go away—a pattern already being seen at some highly effective tech firms.
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