Thoughts on the Tech Job Market in 2025
A personal reflection on layoffs, AI disruption, and the evolving path into tech—from the perspective of a seasoned Mac Admin, mentor, and parent in 2025.
Recently, I’ve seen more and more conversations in the Mac Admins Slack community about the state of the tech job market. Admins are sharing news articles, Reddit threads, and their own stories of layoffs, career pivots, and job search fatigue.
I’ve been reading along and reflecting. As someone who’s spent the better part of my career in Apple administration and IT operations, these conversations hit close to home. I’ve seen this industry evolve in real time—from when IT felt like a future-proof field, to today’s AI-driven uncertainty. And now, I’m not just thinking about my own path, but what it means for new admins, for friends struggling to find work, and even for my children and their future.
A Shifting Industry with Unsteady Ground
The tech industry has always been fast-moving, but the last few years have taken things to a new level. According to the 2025 Dice Tech Salary Report, average tech salaries have risen slightly to $112,521—a 1.2% increase. But that number masks some unsettling trends. Entry-level roles are actually seeing salary declines, and nearly half of tech professionals are actively job-hunting.
On top of this, we’ve watched wave after wave of layoffs, especially across IT departments, as companies downsize or restructure. It’s not just about pay—people are questioning stability. And for those trying to break into tech, underemployment has become a looming threat with more than half of recent 4-year college graduates reporting themselves as underemployed. Even computer science grads are struggling to land entry-level roles that match their qualifications.
Entry-Level Jobs Are Disappearing Before Our Eyes
A recent CBS News article captured this well: more college graduates are finding themselves unemployed or forced into unrelated jobs. Many are considering career changes just to make ends meet.
Not long ago, we used to say IT was the best path to a stable, well-paying career. Now, that advice feels incomplete. I still believe tech can be a rewarding, impactful, and viable option. But we owe it to ourselves and the next generation to acknowledge that the path into tech is changing—dramatically.
AI and Automation Are Reshaping the Career Ladder
Artificial Intelligence has always been marketed as a tool to boost productivity, but its real-world impact is more complicated. While AI unlocks incredible efficiencies, it’s also replacing the kinds of jobs that used to serve as stepping stones—especially in support and junior-level roles.
The CBS article mentioned major companies like Google and Microsoft laying off hundreds as they invest heavily in AI initiatives. And I can’t help but wonder: with these traditional entry points disappearing, how are recent grads supposed to get the years of experience required to land mid-level or senior roles?
If the ladder’s first few rungs are being removed, how do you climb?
Duolingo: A Case Study of Cautionary Tales
Duolingo’s recent pivot to an “AI-first” strategy offers a cautionary tale. By trying to replace human translators and content creators with AI, they laid off 10% of their contractor workforce. The backlash was swift—internal unrest and public outcry led to lost credibility.
This moment illustrates a deeper truth: AI shouldn’t be seen as a replacement but a tool that augments human creativity and judgment. When companies forget that, they lose both talent and trust. Duolingo’s challenges highlight the risks of viewing AI as a wholesale replacement.
Mac Admins and Narrowing Roles, Rising Expectations
If you’re a Mac Admin today, you’ve probably felt this squeeze. It’s no longer enough to just manage Apple devices. Organizations increasingly expect us to understand identity management, scripting and automation, and platforms like AWS, Terraform, and Okta. Mac-only roles have grown fewer, and expectations have grown broader.
If you’re currently job-seeking, you’ve probably noticed the lack of roles that are just Mac-focused. Hiring managers want versatility. And that can be daunting—especially if your career so far has been rooted entirely in the Apple ecosystem.
I’ve seen admins respond by pivoting toward security, cloud automation, and compliance roles. Some are picking up DevOps skills, while others are moving laterally into IT project management or internal tools teams. The takeaway? Flexibility is not just becoming the new job security, but a hard requirement.
Rethinking Education for the Next Generation
This brings me to something even more personal. I’ve always told people you don’t need a college degree to succeed in tech. I never finished a four-year degree myself. My career has been built through hands-on experience, a relentless curiosity, and a strong community—especially the Mac Admins Slack. I’ve relied heavily on my soft skills and willingness to learn to make up for any lack of knowledge I may have had going into a given role. Today, I’ve achieved the kind of role many tech grads and others hope to reach despite not having any fancy letters after my name. I count myself very fortunate as a result.
Still, I’ve always said that college can help. And it can. But I’m no longer sure it’s the best path by default, especially for tech careers. The cost is high. The return, increasingly, is uncertain. College, in my opinion, lost its promise as the ticket to the middle-class many years ago and is no longer a one-size-fits-most approach for higher education. My oldest child is eight—an autistic boy who loves math and coding. I want to nurture that passion. But I also wonder: by the time he’s college age, will a degree still be the key to opportunity? What will be the right path for his generation?
For him—and for many kids today—alternatives like certifications, apprenticeships, and hands-on internships might offer better returns. These paths aren’t “less than.” They’re just different. And in many cases, more practical and adaptable. And its important to say that none of these alternatives necessarily replaces college for everyone. There are careers (medicine, engineering, academia) where a traditional degree is still indispensable.
If you’re a parent wondering how to guide your child’s interests, here are a few starting points I’ve found online that could prove helpful:
- CSforALL – National initiative to expand access to computer science education.
- Apprenticeship.gov – Explore paid training opportunities across industries.
- Code.org – Free resources for kids and schools to learn coding.
- TechGirlz – Free workshops for middle school girls interested in tech.
The truth is that success today might come from a hybrid of formal education, self-driven learning, and applied experience. As mentors, we need to make space for that.
So, Where Do We Go From Here?
If you’re reading this and feeling disillusioned—I get it. Whether you’re actively searching for a new role, mentoring someone who is, or just watching from a distance with unease, it’s hard not to feel like the industry is shifting beneath our feet.
But I don’t believe the story ends here. I still recommend tech as a field. I still believe in this work and this community. I still think there are meaningful, well-paying, exciting roles to be had. The difference is that the journey now requires more intentionality—and more support.
I’m not sure what the exact roadmap looks like for my son, or for the people I mentor, or even for myself five to ten years from now. But I believe in adaptability, in the value of community, and in the people behind the machines.
Let’s Talk About It
I’m curious to hear from you:
- Are you navigating a job search right now? What have you experienced?
- Have you expanded beyond Apple administration, or are you considering it?
- What do you tell the next generation about building a tech career?
- How do you see the role of formal education evolving in our field?
- What additional resources do you recommend for Mac Admins of all levels to up-skill beyond the Mac Admins Slack Community?
Feel free to reply to this post, Slack, LinkedIn, Bluesky, or wherever you want to connect. Automation and AI are reshaping the landscape faster than our education systems, government policies, and overall industries are adapting. It’s a challenging moment but not an insurmountable one. We don’t have all the answers—but we’re stronger figuring them out together.
Feedback
Below is some feedback I’ve gotten so far about job hunting and artificial intelligence affecting industries.
[A job I interviewed for] ghosted me. Never heard from them again. They appear to have reposted the position, this time as hybrid. - S. G. [LinkedIn]
This is a very real issue; a lot of the entry-level roles will probably go away at some point, but only in the same way that a lot of entry-level roles have gone away in a multitude of industries. Think of it this way: most people who work in commercial kitchens no longer start as pot washers. Was it an entry point? Yes. Was it actually a worthwhile job? Debatable. As a community, we need to collectively make it so that the entry point is somewhere else and flood the industry with them and the opportunities for folks. A very real example is blogging, like you do - spread information and make it accessible. Most of us got our start in a universe where there were no slack instances, blogs, forums, etc., and we had to have on-the-job oral history training, and the world has moved on from that. The only T1 stuff it will replace any time soon is basic ticket troubleshooting. You still need people to set up systems, do the physical work, be the calming influence when someone is in a panic about a lost file, etc. The entry-level rolls like the pot washer still exist, but the least intellectual part of them is now gone; now they’re doing things like helping prep stations, etc. No one wants to do scripted ticket work all day, so why not automate it away, and help people get into a different part of the industry as their start? – Diego [MacAdmins Slack]
I think if we ever get to that level (and I am skeptical, but think it’s non-zero) everyone who is trying to create anything without fundamentals will be replaced by those with the fundamentals and the AI to maximize output. - t-lark [MacAdmins Slack]
More Reading
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