Not a great time for the IT worker

“What will you be when you grow up? An engineer or a doctor?” This question rules supreme for children growing up in India. When it comes to engineering, software is at the very top of the pyramid. Once it was the ticket to a great entry, loads of moolah, foreign travel and a long stable career. Off late things have soured a bit and that is not so.

Tough entry

It’s tough being an IT fresher today. Lakhs of them graduate out of college every year. A fraction of them get tech jobs and the ones that do may have to settle for pittance. Many companies have been taking freshers in the Rs 2.5-4 lakhs per annum package for years. There are also fewer desirable vacancies in the first place. The regular news stream of a higher number of layoffs adds to the doom and gloom.

Covid heydays over

The IT industries boomed during Covid, showing great growth and profitability. The bonuses were high and there was finally some flexibility at the workplace. But now the large companies are showing low single digit growth. Indian IT services giants are yet to show results when it comes to the latest AI innovations. As of now the future is uncertain. To make matters worse, IT companies are insisting that the Work From Home Culture end and everyone come to office 5 days a week.

MAGA

The Indian IT services industry has thrived on outsourcing to America. While there is no tariff on that, one would have thought that here at least is a ray of hope. However, their clients have been hit by the tariffs so here too the future is uncertain. H1B visas are practically Indian visas and sometimes almost 80% of them are given to Indians. But here too there has been a crackdown. It is getting more difficult to visit, work or study in America. That has led to a global uncertainty and job markets and student quotas are under threat everywhere.

As if that’s not enough, there is the looming threat of AI. What kind of jobs will AI replace? For one it has proven to be a great coder, so get ready for the industry to be disrupted.

So where does this leave the Indian IT worker? Things are tough at home. Things are tough abroad. If one wants to take a break from it all and study abroad, then that is tough too.

India has become a large economy with a high growth rate. One hopes we can generate enough jobs to take care of everyone in the IT world.