AI is taking jobs after all: How you can still pursue a career in the tech industry

Recently, in a conversation with a founder, he said, "I no longer need at least 80 percent of my front-end developers." He says this matter-of-factly. Low code, no code, and now AI code or coding via prompt, as enabled by the currently highly acclaimed Swedish startup Loveable – it's a logical, economic decision for the entrepreneur to invest the salaries he used to pay his programmers in AI.

Is this a turning point in the tech industry? The end of six-figure dream salaries in software development, the end of secure careers as someone who can program? Is AI killing techies' jobs? "Five years ago, everyone said: If you studied engineering or development, you'd be set for life. I would drastically revise that now." That's what Andreas Oetker, CEO of the recruitment consultancy Talent Tree, says. Gründerszene spoke with him and the founder of the HR startup, Julian von Blücher . The Munich-based recruiters specialize in filling management positions in startups and scaleups.

Until four years ago, 70 percent of the positions they filled were in the tech sector, the two say. Now, 80 percent of the jobs are in the commercial sector. "Demand for developers per se has declined. Prices have plummeted dramatically."

So, do people in the tech sector need to worry about their jobs? After a brief, irritated silence, both respond: Yes. Of course. Totally. "I think anyone who isn't worried right now and thinks AI will pass us by is very much mistaken," says Oetker. And Blücher adds: " Any developer who even remotely reflects on their career will have to make an effort and also upskill – anyway and constantly." So, while they used to be hotly contested talents who could dictate their terms, techies in the startup scene are now under severe pressure.