In a digital age that is setting fire to an explosion of innovation in STEM fields, it is easy for the average individual to assume that there must be plenty of room in the rocket to the moon. But in light of recent events in the general economy and within tech companies themselves, companies are starting to rethink their gung-ho hiring strategy in favor of a defensive approach.
In the summer of 2022, the United States met the definition of being in a recession: two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth. Contributing factors to that downturn were primarily inflation and higher interest rates. PV economics teacher Philip George commented on those economic conditions on companies’ capacity to hire workers, “Many companies have to continue to borrow in order to grow their business or make payments, so when interest rates for borrowing goes up it means it’s more expensive for business to borrow, and one of the ways they often make up for that is they will lay off workers.”
But tech companies are disproportionately affected by economic downturns, say researchers from Goldman Sachs. “Higher interest rates and tighter financial conditions disproportionately impact the [tech] sector because tech company profits are typically expected further out in the future and therefore subject to greater duration risk.”
As George said, tech companies have responded by making large layoffs to boost profitability in this rough economic climate. Recent studies have shown that more than 20,000 tech workers were laid off in six out of the seven months from May to September.
However, PV students and teachers are not deterred by the recent trouble in the tech space. Senior Asvantth Paranidharan, who is interested in a software or mechanical engineering job, is confident that the size of the tech industry will support itself as it weathers economic woes. “My main interest in tech is how broad it is. Just like medicine, the tech industry has a variety of jobs and I feel that I will be able to find a job that I will love.”
PV math and computer science teacher Nikki Pitcher echoed Paranidharan’s thoughts.“The good news is that there are so many occupations that involve STEM. Students learn in CSP just how vast the tech industry is. I can’t see anyone having a hard time finding a job in IT and will continue to encourage students to explore all avenues available in the tech fields.”
Pitcher also pointed out that “many majors these days like business, engineering, and even teaching have added a computer science course to their list of required courses,” making classes like Computer Science Principles at PV a useful class for almost any field of study.
Pv teachers and students are hoping for a positive end to the economic downturn. Analysts are optimistic about the economy moving forward, meaning smooth economic sailing and revived tech companies to come.
