After the Tech Layoffs: How the Developer Market Changed

Layoffs Slowed Down, but the Market Didn't Bounce Back

260,000 in 2023, 150,000 in 2024. Google, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft -- everyone was swinging the axe. In 2025, the number dropped to about 50,000. But from where I'm standing, the market hasn't returned to what it was. The structure itself has changed.

It's a Senior-Only World Now

The most visible shift. According to LinkedIn's report, job postings requiring 5+ years of experience went from 45% in 2022 to 68% in 2025. Junior positions shrank from 30% to 18%.

The reason? AI coding tools are replacing a significant chunk of what juniors used to do. Before, seniors designed and juniors implemented. Now seniors design, AI implements, and seniors review. The space for juniors has narrowed. This is a structural change -- even if the economy recovers, returning to 2021 levels is unlikely.

Full-stack preference is up too. According to Indeed's analysis, postings with "Full Stack" increased 35% from 2023, while "Frontend Developer" standalone postings dropped 15%. AI tools boost individual productivity, so companies see it as more efficient to have fewer people cover a wider stack.

About Those Salary Drops

People say developer salaries have dropped, but that's not quite accurate. Levels.fyi data shows US big tech senior TC median dipped slightly from $350K in 2023 to $330K in 2025. But that's largely RSU value fluctuation -- base salary actually rose about 5%.

Korea is a different story. Based on Wanted data, average salary for a dev with 5 years of experience went from 62M KRW to 65M KRW -- a modest increase. But the raise barely exceeds the 3.5% inflation rate, so real purchasing power is essentially flat. (There's a reason it doesn't feel like a raise.)

Changes I See Around Me

Three years ago, uploading a resume would trigger a flood of messages. Now the resume-to-interview conversion rate feels like it's halved. Interviews have gotten tougher too -- two coding tests, system design, behavioral interviews, 4-5 rounds as standard.

But AI/ML, cloud infrastructure, and security are areas where supply can't keep up with demand. I hear AI engineers with just 3 years of experience are getting 3-4 offers at once. Same job title, but depending on the tech stack, the market situation is completely different.

So What Do You Do?

It seems like just writing good code isn't enough anymore. System design ability, solving business problems with technology, effectively leveraging AI tools while catching what AI misses. That's what the market seems to want -- though honestly, how many people can do all of this at once?

If a human does work that AI can do, they get replaced. Defining problems, designing architecture, communicating with stakeholders -- those are still areas AI can't touch. Focusing there seems like the right direction, but I honestly don't know what this market will look like three years from now either.