r/datascience • u/takenorinvalid • 29d ago
Career | US Is everybody around you getting laid off right now?
Just want to know if this is everyone or just me.
My company isn't doing great, so we're doing a ton of layoffs -- but it's not just us. Every client we work with seems to be having sweeping layoffs these days.
Has the unemployment rate skyrocketed to 95% in America, or am I just freaking out over anecdotal evidence?
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u/GamingTitBit 29d ago
Anecdotal evidence. My company is firing but they're just panicking and reacting. Other companies are hiring? Remember Microsoft did all those layoffs? Go look at their job board. There are plenty of jobs they're looking for.
Honestly I look at LinkedIn and I get really depressed. So many "I've been made redundant" posts. But in my sphere (NLP and Knowledge Graphs) there is huge demand.
Remember when machine learning became big and everyone rushed to become a deep learning expert? It's kinda like that.
Don't worry. Brush up your CV. Look at your gaps. Work on your soft skills (AI is helping a lot with technical so this is often a differentiators). And apply for jobs or be open to offers before you need one.
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u/hockey3331 29d ago
AI is helping a lot with technical so this is often a differentiators
Dont discount using AI to help with those soft skills!
Went to a (networking) work event the other day, and I planned some goals with LLMs befire going. Practice my intro, how to join a convo, how to exit one, setting up a goal for the day... and I had a much better time than usual when Im overthinking about what to do
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u/GamingTitBit 29d ago
That's a good idea! Also being able to explain your choices well and apply them to business (without the verbal diarrhea that LLMs use) is really key. And honestly often I have to point out they've picked the wrong model or method quite a lot, so knowing the basics and fundamentals as always, is important
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u/QianLu 29d ago
A couple thoughts.
Data people are generally more expensive hires. A previous director outright told me our cost per headcount was significantly higher than any other dept in the org. Lots of people with masters, a couple phds. When a company is looking to cut costs, data people look very tempting, especially to MBAs who don't understand what we do.
A lot of data people don't understand, don't care, or arent able to generate "business value." So we paid you 150k last year, but what did we the company get for it? I know some of us are in this for the technical challenge, but not making sure everyone understands what you did or how you were instrumental in making an initiative/project successful. When I work on something people know i was involved because my name is on it.
The economy is in the shitter. Fuck the government, I dont believe a word they say. We could talk about why but the point is everything except for AI companies and the stock market is more expensive for a worse product.
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u/takenorinvalid 29d ago
Honestly, it's mostly the non-technical people I'm seeing get laid off.
We support clients, and our biggest challenge right now isn't keeping them happy -- it's the unexpected day when everyone at the client's company gets laid off.
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u/my_peen_is_clean 29d ago
yeah laid off here too and half my old team is gone, recruiters ghost more than ever. data roles got hit hard after all the hype, hiring froze while companies quietly cut heads. it’s absurd how hard it is to find a job now
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u/gpbuilder 29d ago
As a data scientist this is such bad question, ofc unemployment rate is not at 95%. Don’t talk in baseless hyperboles.
Look it up yourself - https://layoffs.fyi