why does everyone want to break into tech? 

TikToks that glamorize tech is so annoying. They should glamorize meetings, planning, documentation, and studying by yourself for long periods of time while your friends go out; or debugging for multiple days and still finding no suitable solution just to finally hack around the problem while staying up late to meet a deadline.

Meanwhile I'm the complete opposite: I went into tech purely for the money, got a software engineering degree that I can't stand, and spend my time romanticizing literature and dark academia cause thats what I would have done if I had financial security growing up

Instead of switching to tech (which will just saturate the market and lower wages once they see women poc come in) we need to unionize all industries so that everyone gets paid well

My thing is that 90% of these videos don’t show the hard or grueling aspects nor how competitive they truly are. Its always “look at all the free food i get”, “look at how cool and quirky my office looks”, “look at all the cool fun events i gey to go to for free”, “i go home after 5 hours” (assuming they don’t wfh) and “i used to make 40k with no degree now i make 100k working from home”. It paints an unrealistic picture and I know bc I fell for this. Last year I genuinely thought Id break into tech and stressed myself out in the process of trying to learn certain skills when I realized I wasn’t even passionate about any of it. I was merely charmed by the *potential* lifestyle. Now im in school for something im genuinely interested in (completely unrelated to tech) and can see myself doing.

Deleting or deactivating social media sites that made me feel bad about my career choices changed my brain chemistry, I’m thoroughly convinced. That FOMO evaporates when you start to remember that a majority people in their early 20s make like 40k or less per year. The techtok creators you see are like the top 5-10% of earners in the whole country. No one talks about this. The algorithm boosts aspirational content, that’s why they’re so ubiquitous online. But it’s just not real life. And even on a entry-level tech salary these luxurious lives they’re living aren’t feasible because as income goes up, so does your expenses. Nicer car, nicer clothes, better apartment, dog sitter, income tax, dining out, 401k contributions, savings. Some of them are supplementing their luxury purchases with sponsorships, not their salary. Which skews things even more. This is coming from someone born and raised in Silicon Valley.

I’m an electrical engineer. I’m born, raised, and live in the Bay Area and idolized the valley growing up. I’ve gone multiple times to the Silicon Valley Computer History Museum. The history of the valley is amazing and full of so many brilliant people. Then I grew up and heard stories from people of how horrible it is to work in the valley. I have friends that worked at Google, Apple and Marki Microwave and they have all told me how horrible it is. I work for the boomer, unsexy power company that is fully unionized, pension fund, great work life balance, great benefits, and overtime pay. My friends are all jealous. The base salary is less than what you would get at Google, and I don’t get unlimited kombucha, but everything else makes up for it. The valley is an over glorified nightmare.

As someone whose job is to help people get jobs in tech, it is so much harder to break into tech than people make it seem. I help underrepresented communities to break into tech and the market is still so much structured for white cis males with 4 year degrees or more. It’s very hard to break the expectations of people when they realize they can’t make six figures as soon as they come in and can’t take all the days off. Honestly, tech tok has made my job so much harder because there is so much “aesthetically pleasing info” about tech but not how actually hard it is to get in and getting into a good company at that.

when you work in tech you are *expected* to work insane hours to get to the product out on its release date. Don’t be fooled everybody, you get compensated so much because you are doing so much. They have perks like cleaners or doggie day care so that you have fewer excuses to not be working

It's weird for me watch younger people fall for tech propaganda because it's the exact same is old corporate propaganda from the 90s. What we're honestly seeing with the proliferation of this content is the result of more people feeling a sense of desperation to the point that they're willing to overlook the nuances of working for one of these companies. I have my degree in economics and I have about 8 years of experience working for various tech companies in the finance department so I see firsthand how companies devalue the time of employees. This isn't to put off anyone if working in tech is your goal, but the reality is more mundane than fiction. Here's a snapshot of what you should thinking about when applying: - For junior/apprentice roles, they’ll want you onsite. - You won’t make anything close to 120k/yr starting unless you're management, engineer, analyst, etc. - Since the bar is low, thousands will apply and only a few will be chosen. - Positions may list that no degree/experience is required but I can guarantee you that the people they choose for the job have either one or both. Also for the love of god stop applying to FAANG companies. I know it's tempting and feels good to think about working for an app that's popular, but there's literally 100s of thousands of better companies with better benefits and better pay where you have a way higher chance of scoring a nice job.

In my experience, as someone who’s only been on the bottom rungs of tech, those perks can be a bit nefarious. They want you to love being at work so there’s less incentive to leave. There’s still a hustle culture at most companies. Yeah you’re “allowed” work life balance but people really look at you sideways if you try to implement it. A lot of those places can be pretty culty. If you work as a means to an end, you’ll get burnt out real fast if you don’t get shut out first and replaced with someone who “better fits the culture.”

idk if it’s just me, but i get so turned off when social media romanticizes certain ideas/actions. this whole tech movement is a prime example. i admired the tech industry in the aspect of it being a stimulating industry where you learn some of the best and most sought after intricate skills (i.e., programming, data analysis). but with most of these tech videos just boasting about salaries and working less hours, i feel like it constantly takes away from what the tech industry truly embodies while luring people in just bc of the promising perks, not bc they truly value the industry. i get it, though. some people just work as a means to an end, and that’s understandable. but to those that are sincerely seeking their passion, don’t follow trends set by social media. follow your heart. ❤️

Unpopular Opinion: Many "humanity/helping fields" don't have a high ROI compared to the average computer science graduate. Even biomedical sciences/research in (S)TEM doesn't pay that much. You need a doctoral level degree prior to beginning research. And even after completing, you later realize medical research (especially for women's endocrine health) is neglected and not prioritized. Unless you plan on fertility/ having kids (male scientists only like women as "incubators". So in conclusion, unless you plan to go into medicine, law, tech, finance, or engineering, those of us who want to go into helping careers are vastly underpaid and undervalued. This is coming from someone who wanted to be a dietitian or a therapist. Ironically, the fields that are underpaid in science/humanities are female dominated. Smfhhhh.

I once visited a family friend at his tech worplace and while I was blown away by all the perks and cool fun stuff they have, the vibe I got from him and his collegues was "yeah, we get dinner here... so we don't have to go home to eat." It's made to feel so homey and fun that you don't need to or even want to leave the workplace. So you can always squeeze in that one last thing on your to-do list or whatever. The guys were open about it and tbh seemed to love it - they love working, hell, they do it for fun on their off days even. But that really shifted my perspective about all the perks. I'm inherently European in that way I guess, the minute after my shift ends work does not exist in my brain until the next morning

As CS major with several years into my career, I still encourage it if people are interested. 100k+ salaries are very common for engineers. Flex hours are common, remote work is booming now. If you are smart and max your 401k you can retire on time or early and be very much set financially. If you can find a good product to work on, you do make useful things that make people's lives tangibly better. Downsides: very few women in tech, the tech bro culture is very offputting and you get worn down by it. Management thinks we do magic and constantly ignores your work time estimates, leading to unwanted crunch time. Startups are hell to work in, and 90% of them fail before going to IPO. FAANG companies are alternately destroying the world with unchecked misinformation and selling you consumerist crap that is ruining the planet. You stay in tech long enough and you start to think the Luddites have a point. Midsized companies are the best mix of worklife and finding something ethical to work on, but they don't pay those sweet 6 figure salaries. Pros outweigh the cons for me, but I think we do women and minorities a disservice if we don't point out the industry wide flaws.

The important thing these vids don’t show is how hard these people have had to work to get to where they are. The average person working in tech takes years of education, internships, and resume building experience to be picked up by these big companies.

I have learnt so much from the comment section. I studied languages up to masters level and I am currently trying to get back into the corporate world. I love working with people. Planning things, translating, communication work, magazines, publishing that kinda thing. I have noticed that people are constantly telling me to go into tech, it’s scary because people think I am not serious for not wanting that but I really don’t see myself in tech. I just want to earn enough, work in a job I love and have a good work life balance. I don’t need so much money, just enough to survive in this late stage of capitalism. I am very aware of my mortality.

My hubs has worked in several of these ultra high-end office spaces, including offices with stunning rooftop bars, and even one with a “hidden” fully stocked 1920’s Speakeasy (I’m not even kidding) and I’ll tell you the employees almost never get to enjoy any of this Instagram-worthy perks. There’s no rules against using any of it, it’s just that the whole thing is like existing in set pieces, doll houses with all the fixtures painted on the walls. We fell for it the first couple of times, now we know better. It’s the typical PMC form-over-function behavior. Marketing.

personally I think that blurring the lines between work and life is actually quite dangerous. it sets up a situation where companies can more easily take advantage of employees, while also essentially, making sure employees have no life outside of work, and work more. however, it is an extremely desirable model for people out of college for many reasons. firstly, since people are having families later (if at all) than previous generations, they need to find something to do with their time. this turns into looking for new friends, and working in these young, bustling companies is an easy way for people to make new friends. As well, oftentimes, many people relocate, and then their new friends are from their work. while working in tech seems fun, it can also be very hard work, while also further promoting capitalist ideals, and takes advantage of employees.

I have seen so many “hr professionals” selling resumes and “break into tech” courses for upwards of 500 dollars and that is extremely gross to me

Did a coding bootcamp for 6 weeks till I realised that type of environment wasn’t for me so I quit. Now I’m doing the CS50 Harvard Introduction to Programming Course and so far I like it, it’s self paced and not as stressful💕📚

I feel like working in tech and working at tech should be added to all of these tik tok titles. I feel like working in tech is like software development, UI/UX, etc. while working at tech is like tech sales, tech marketing, etc.

tech is so hard to learn and to be in and they make it seem so easy. they ignore the concept of crunch time altogether as if the big bucks will just rake in no matter what. i’ve literally been suffering just with my bachelors. and then there’s people with so much more time and effort and hard work. i don’t think it’s bad that they are encouraging learning coding, but they make it seem so easy to know regardless of the context that we take years to learn

I really think young ppl just want a way to make a decent living and enjoy time with one another. Tech provides that for many.

Social media has a way of romanticizing everything. As the viewer/consumer we have to watch this kind of content with a hefty grain of salt.. work is work is work, even when it looks like fun.

As someone who broke into tech before it was a thing, it's not always as glamorous as it seems lol... I dealt with a hella toxic work environment, micro-aggresions, sxual harassment, and the best part: burnout that took years to recover from. But hey, the free food was nice! Not to sheet all over anyone's dream, but be very cautious about which company you work for. And have an exit strategy, once you start seeing major red flags, run!! 💜

So here are my thoughts/rant about this topic. My fyp is full of tech career influencers. I am someone who got into tech by transitioning from graphic design to ux design which took a lot of effort and self education. I don’t work for FAANG, but it’s a still pretty big and well known company. Even though I make just under six figures, these tech influencers give me major FOMO, as I can’t help but compare myself to them and chase the prestigious status of a FAANG company. To me those companies symbolize security, not just in financial sense but in a ‘the world is your oyster’ way. Simply having them on my resume would ensure I’d get any job I apply to, no more being ghosted by recruiters or having my experience doubted. To me these TikTok tech influencers are selling a lie and are not fully transparent with finances and the path they took to get into FAANG. I constantly see fresh new grads (21-22) immediately getting into FAANG and living in luxurious high rises, and it just seems unrealistic…what about student loans? It took me three years to repay mine, and even though I finally paid them off and have 90k salary, I would still not be able to afford to live the lifestyle these tech influencers sell due to inflation and insanely high rent. I definitely feel a lot of these people either are debt free, have multiple income streams, live in a partner/dual income household or get financial support from parents initially to help them start off. On top of that, FAANG interviews are notoriously long and difficult (two I did were over 6 months!) and I see so many tiktokers get in after less than 3 months… it just makes me feel like I’m doing everything wrong. I also get an ick thinking about how these influencers already give 30-40hrs of their time every week to the company, and instead of living their lives they parade around as a mascot/free advertising for them. It just rubs me the wrong way when I see the absolute grip tech corp has over these people’s identities even AFTER they exit big corp, going as far as labeling themselves, ex-FAANG on their social media. I totally understand it’s an achievement and something to be proud of, but who are you outside of work? I definitely started shifting my perspective on these prestigious companies and now focus more on just working to live a comfortable lifestyle, make enough to have for any emergency and opt out of the rat’s race.

Tech can feel strange to work in sometimes. I see my mom working in education and how she’a underpaid and can’t take time off during the week for doctors appointments, but when she’s off work she never has to think about work and can fully focus on other aspects of her life. I bet none of these videos talk about crunch time/overtime and how exhausting it can be when working in tech when you’re “encouraged” to work overtime just to get everything done - only for management to continue thinking you can keep working at that pace and the cycle continues.

As someone who is about to get their CS degree, I can tell you right now, the company matters. I have a friend at one tech company (thats everyone’s “dream company “ yuck lol) that pays so much and is very diverse with awesome ppl, and shes working late into the night. When she finally meets a deadline, shes expected to put in more work to meet the next one and then the next one etc etc they upped her workload as the weeks went on. Its like the Gilded Age industrial workers all over again… except there are new Robber Barrens but not in diff industries like oil, mining, etc. just tech lol. I was a little jealous because of the pay, but I cant imagine not being able to pursue other interests like acting and theatre outside of work with that work style. I get paid less at my company, but I was working maybe 4 hrs a day and the others were in meetings, lolly gagging, etc

Honestly, I just want to learn basic tech skills. Everyone around me is basically becoming RU-vidrs or were lucky to go to schools with comp-sci skills and the money to afford classes I could never get the chance too. I just wish tech was more accessible for newcomers or first-gen?

It’s the same w nursing and now I’m a little upset bc nursing is NOT romantic

I've been studying and developing my Data Analytics skills since October of last year. I have experience since having a Biology degree and lab tech experience and getting interviews is hard and making it passed the first round is even harder. I felt extremely depressed seeing everyone romanticizing everything. Now I've made peace and let go of the perceived time frame. Everything takes time. Keep working but have fun too!

As a newly graduate, I feel immense pressure to find a job that pays well and balances my lifestyle and seeing TikToks on these glamourized jobs really gives me FOMO. You feel as though you're not doing enough in your early 20's, since other's look like they're so far ahead. Not to mention, Social Media really increases that anxiety because all you're seeing is the better parts of people's lives.

i think one thing that is missing from these tech videos is the risk of crunch + crunch culture (for anyone who is unfamiliar, its basically being forced or peer pressured into working _obscene_ amount of overtime often without overtime pay/bonuses/etc). this may just be more common in tech-entertainment industries such as video games + animation though (my field) so idk! i feel like those fields are also much more skill-based than say, software development, (the level of complexity between coding for apps and coding for an aaa video game is quite large - getting to an aaa concept artists level from scratch will not happen in a couple months or even a couple years) so it may not be particularly mineable for tiktok content. that said there are still tons of roles in those fields that require no artistic skill + no (or little) coding experience - but those can be subject to problems too.

Working in tech just seems boring to me… I don’t see the attraction, there is nothing desirable about sitting at a desk and looking at a computer all day, no matter what kind of snack bar they have.

tech is the only field that pays a sustainable wage in this hellscape, without completely crushing you (see: banking, law, consulting). tech companies are only going to get richer, siphoning money away from other industries, and the wage disparity only worse, so jump on the bandwagon before it's too late is my opinion.

Sometimes it makes me feel that my other passions are useless and that tech is the only way to be successful lol

The part at the end where you said tho think who and what we’re innovativating for, definitely resonated with me the most. I’m in public accounting, and ngl working at a big4 is kind of similar to working at one of the tech companies (well sort of). They’re starting to push for a lot of in house amenities, and you’re surrounding by a lot of other young adults. This past busy season my office always provided breakfast-dinner everyday, we have a lounge area, multiple pool tables, a gym, etc. but tbh it’s bc they don’t want you to go home. I probably worked 52 hours each week?? I’m not entirely sure if I should stay still. My coworkers are my closest adult friends, many I went to university with, and the pay and perks are really good. Tbh the work itself isn’t hard, just a lot of hours sometimes. It does make me sad thinking my work is to make rich ppl stay rich. Do you know what I mean?

Tech job in Vlog: "Great pay, great environment, Good work balance" Tech job in real life: "Rewrite spaghetti code done by people above"

So glad that you talked about this. As much as I am for people being in tech/learning how to code, i honestly hate how tech is being sold as the new thing to learn or this ticket to financial liberation. People get so charmed by the vlogs and unrealistic ideas of working in tech that they forget that: 1. It is hard to break in. 2. Tech is like any other industry in the sense that it is toxic, sexist, not very diverse, classist and very elitist. It's actually much worse in tech because people are oblivious about/to it. 3. 6 figure paying jobs aren't very common. The country you live in, the company you work at and your career tech all influence how much you can expect to be paid. 4. Getting a job within a year of learning isn't common, luck along with so many things influence that. And so much more.

As someone who went from working in legal to working in legal tech, the difference in my happiness is insane. We still do a lot of work, but the unlimited pto and massage days and taco trucks and gift baskets make you feel good to do this work. Getting almost double what I used to make doesn’t hurt either 😊

Black tech dude here. I’ve done a few tech internships as a coder at some F500places not the apples or googles just yet interviewing for them for a new grad job rn (hopefully I get in) I really like the work I do tbh it hits both creative and technical problems typically impacts a ton of people so it as least feels meaningful, you’re surrounded by insanely smart people and can work in almost any product space from space crafts to fashion. and with remote work you don’t have to deal with people’s bull shit and pointless small talk. I think it’s one of the better compensation to “hardwork” ratios as long as you can get through the hurdle of coding I also think the coding interview process is pretty defined which is great and helps remove bias toward “better” schools and stuff it’s obviously not perfect and had its downsides but I enjoy it!

So I recently just switched my major from communications to Cyber Tech/Security (an IT field) because I felt like my other major was too Mickey Mouse clubhouse for me. I wanted something that would challenge me & I’ve always had a fascination with the internet and computers. Ngl saying I’m an “IT student” has a far nicer ring than saying I do “mass communications” not to mention I’m now officially a STEM major bc of it. But I underestimated how tedious the coursework would be but I’m not giving up 🥰🔥🔥

My brother works in amazon right now and I find it interesting that Amazon tech workers don't tell that there's a certain "quota" per week that you have to make in order to keep your job. If you don't meet that "quota", your fired because there is a line of tech workers behind you that's waiting to take your place. And that it's incredibly hard to get a job at the big 3 tech companies: Google, Apple, and Amazon. They are kinda right that a degree doesn't exactly matter but you have to have experience in coding and/or interning in a tech company.

I’m in Tech. The reason these companies offer amazing onsite perks is so the employees won’t leave. Like, physically. They want them on the campus as much as possible. I worked for a company a couple years ago that had amazing on site food service. It wasn’t free but it was heavily subsidized so we were paying probably a quarter what we would have in a regular restaurant. Nobody left for lunch, ever. And sure enough, even though there were lots of spots in the building to sit and eat and get away from work for an hour, most people grabbed there lunch and came back to their desk and kept working. Same idea with ask the other perks. You can get so much more time out of people if they can just step away for a few minutes to get a haircut or check on their kid in the onsite daycare or bring their dog to work and take him out to the dog park when he needs to stretch his legs.

As a programmer at Uber, I totally get what you're saying. While I appreciate the company that I work at, I am also well aware that it is a company like any other.

I take those tiktoks with a grain of salt. I had an internship with a tech company and was laid off after one month over a 2 min zoom call…I was a content writer…they kept all the coders but a lot of people in other roles were also let go. Ironically, my role had to do with diversity work in the Human Resources department….

As a black woman who works in tech in an actual technical role, I wish we were privy to tech from the beginning. Working in STEM to some capacity has always been a high paying career. I think people are seeking the wrong outcome when they decide they want to work for FAANG or MAANG. They should instead be looking to acquire the skills to take them anywhere regardless of what happens to the big tech companies. If you study software engineering, cybersecurity, data science, big data, cloud computing, engineering, etc., you will always be highly employable. This is especially true if you want the freedom to actually enjoy your money by not having to move to NY, SF, etc, just to get the big tech job. I've been getting paid 6 figures for years now, way before I got my first "big tech" job.

As a black woman about to leave her tech job, I’m just going to say the money is good but you will be overworked

I love your closing thought about considering what we are progressing towards. I've been a teacher and I have worked in tech, and I constantly notice that the tools we make that are supposed to help us, more often result in more bureaucracy, more data points and less humanization, and importantly, the same amount if not more work for the people that the tool was supposed to help.

Jesus, Americans relationship to work is so weird. I can't put into words except to say that hard capitalism really messed you guys up lol

as someone who is going to a top design school for graphic design and has wanted to get into UX prior to this whole weird tech trend on tik tok, it’s SO annoying seeing people see stuff like UX/UI as some dream escape from whatever career they’re currently in. i am dreading that by the time I graduate, the market will be saturated with all of these people who aren’t even passionate about the fields, but just want an easy out into what they think will be a six figure salary with nothing more than a boot camp. no, it’s not impossible, but these people are being sold a FANTASY and not a guaranteed reality.

I work a regular smegular corporate job and i love it. I see tech toks everywhere and I’m taking a tech certificate so i have something to fall back on if it comes down to it. I know i feel privileged to be able to do that and have a corporate job on top of that, i am thankful. But the thing is, corporate jobs are hard in itself. The higher you are, the more you have to sacrifice your time for work. If you are a manager for example. Say goodbye to your weekends and nights because you’ll get pulled in at work because of problems you are responsible to solve.

As someone who broke into tech without a degree I can say that it was the most difficult thing I've ever done. Whether it's coding, design, or QA - none of these jobs are easy. They require a lot of study and hard work. Additionally, the job field is not very friendly to juniors (people new to the field with no or little experience). I got rejected soooooooooo many times during the job search. It was incredibly demoralizing. Anyone who makes getting into tech sound easy is probably trying to sell you something.

Teachers deserve so much more :/

My favorite thing about tech tok content (at least on my fyp) is that so many black women seem happy and successful

It’s one of the last industries that actually pays something

As a person in tech I never actually noticed this, since my feed has always had (to some extend) people talking about product oriented work. I think the reality of working in tech is def more cushy, but trust me there are hard time just like in any job. Your brain has to be switched on like all the time and tech is notorious for not having work life balance

I think that a large majority of these social media accounts talking about that aren't really in tech as they might say they are, they work for tech companies but don't do technical stuff they aren't developers, data scientists or analysts they are probably agile masters or PO's they don't do technical stuff they are incharge of other stuff that's why a majority of them act and talk the way they do

To answer the question, most career paths are literally dying out due to the low wage ceiling offered. With the astronomical rise in the cost of living and the idea that you might want to make a big purchase one day, let's say a small apartment, there isn't much choice. You can only go into a select few fields if you ever want to dream of being able to afford anything in this life. Unfortunately making a video about "Fomo and the glamorization of tech" isn't helpful when most of time we can expect to get a median salary in the our fields and the tech one will allow someone to at least to pay rent for an apartment at a median position (not even talking about working for a F500 company). I say let's relax and move to more important topics, like why are people forced into the high-end jobs simply to afford to live?

Me & my boyfriend both do National park work & he always ends up making more no matter our jobs, it’ll be like we get jobs with the same pay but he gets so many add ons that seem excessive. Like he got a bonus for physical labor even tho I am doing the same job. I’ve never experienced jobs dropping random extra money from jobs, but he just thought all jobs were like that. No matter how hard I try, I always show up early & he can often be late. It’s crazy how jobs will find a way to create a gender gap. The only time we were payed the same was a woman owned business..

There is no job that doesn't have downsides no matter how much you earn, throw in social media FOMO and you get a recipe for people career hoping without gaining any sense of fulfillment tech is the investment banking of this time, in another 10 years it will be something else, I've been in the job market for over 15 years and what I've learnt is this, you can make money in so many ways, you just have to be creative and stay open minded, tech is not the be all and end all

I work in tech I study tech in varsity as well and I a as well don't agree on with how people talk about tech on social media and making it seem easy whilst that's far from the truth People say working in tech is fun yes it is but at what cost working in tech is not easy at all you constantly have to study spend hours and hours learning something even though you've already graduated years ago I mean honestly it's not as easy as it seems 60% of people in tech have minor mental health issues with stress, anxiety and constant worrying something will go wrong

I think working in tech has afforded me the ability to leave a life with less stress as I get paid a livable wage. I have adequate time off etc. The reality is that working in tech is better than many industries. I don't think that it is over-romanticized. The flexibility and stress reduction is real. I feel if it is something that interests you and brings you joy go for it. I have a degree in Computer Science I got a job a month after graduating after 100 applications. Even with a degree and multiple internships breaking into tech can be hard, but I am so glad to be in this field. I get to do interesting work that causes relatively little if no harm and has a net positive effect. I think more women of color should go into tech because it is the new frontier and diversity in the industry is crucial to harm reduction etc. Even with the big push to go into STEM or tech there still isn't good representation in these fields. While I think tech has downsides, it is a great industry if you want to make a livable wage and have some flexibilty.

I work for an agency and mainly do social media work and must admit it has some of the best benefits out there. Everyone asks me how to break in but there are some cons. Unlimited PTO isnt that great. I often don’t fully enjoy my PTO, particularly half days because I can’t log off in time because of projects. Then when I have a good amount of time off (the most I’ve taken is 2 days off in a row) it’s like I have a pile of endless work. It’s rare that I have a slow week. Overtime (it’s now paid) but I just hate staying late at night on my computer when I just want a work/life balance.

I worked in tech. I was a janitor.

Love this video! Especially about the push to STEM stuff - I majored in Computer Science because I really bought into that STEM is the only future for you idea, but I never had any intentions of working in tech because it just didn't feel appealing to me to work all day coding in a cubicle and banging my head against my desk debugging. So....when I graduated with my CS degree from college, I moved to Los Angeles and became a reality TV producer instead LMAO and I love it!!

You just have such a good vibe, I could watch you talking about anything and I’d enjoy it.

The allure of 120k a year and catered lunches is strong.

I go to a top-drawer engineering/computer science school and grew up in Silicon Valley. A lot of my “tech” alumni friends always complain how they just get paid to go to meetings and MAYBE write some code on a good day. Especially when they just say “tech,” you know they’re suuuper bored with their job 😂

Very common issues for the entertainment industry too, as you well know. Most of our jobs are not very glamorous at all, but you wouldn't know that from social media.

I used to be one of those who glamourize tech jobs. But having worked in a tech vs a non-tech role opened my eyes. Once you are deemed too "replaceable", companies treat you like crap. While I studied data science and analytics mainly for my interest in the problems they solve, an even greater interest would be its "demand" and relative lack of "supply". After a decent portfolio, I was able to choose jobs that didn't expect overtime and respect work life balance. The market is becoming more saturated, so I make sure to boost my skills to be more "rare" and demand things like more vacations, benefits etc

For my boot camp I interviewed someone who works in Amazon in Seattle and he said it’s super flexible, he has a kid, wife and a home. No cap, he’s really chill. 👍 There was a man in a startup I interviewed who works very hard but loves designing. It takes a while to build a portfolio in order to break into corporate unless you went to a 4- year or have great connections.

Really loved this video! I’m really removed from all of this stuff as someone getting a PhD in the humanities so I appreciated this perspective

Why doesn’t this have more views??? Soooo well articulated 👏

Hey Amanda You make awesome videos, keep it up! 😊✨

Thanks for creating. Also loved the TikToks you shared.

amanda somehow always ends up making video essays on topics that have been stuck in my mind for the past few weeks 😭

To answer your question personally - I want $100k while working from home. That’s it.

Wow you did an amazing job explaining the whole phenomenon!

I just found your channel! The interesting thing is that around when this video was posted I "broke into tech." My experience: I work at a senior living community and am essentially the computer version of maintenance. I really did have no prior experience, but I was a hobbyist for basically my entire life. I get paid slightly less than my previous food service job that had tips. 100% worth it for the consistency and schedule, I love my job, but six figures it isn't. People seem to forget that a career is something you build (for better or for worse!)

Yet another amazing video. Keep up the great work.

I'm soon graduating from a CS programme and I've found it quite challenging to find a job that actually aligns with my values. Many technological innovations can be used for questionable purposes, and others just contribute to the acceleration of climate change through helping people sell useless stuff or whatever. With that said, I've still managed to find a job that seems meaningful to me and I don't say others can't too, it's just something I would have considered today if I were to choose a major again. Many of these tech-fluencers seem to completely ignore who and what you're working for in tech, as said in the video. Thanks for the insightful content!

I really love your video style, your pacing and voice is so good!

I really enjoy your videos. keep contemplating these matters :)

Love the braids Amanda😇and I’m glad you’re back it’s been a while since we got a video

Sometimes I see these tiktoks where people say “yeah I basically just sit on my phone all day, I don’t do like any work at all and make $100k a year” and like I’m all for “fuck work” and unionizing to avoid labor exploitation, but like…..let’s see them post their performance reviews w their higher ups and coworkers real quick..

I feel called out, I’m literally going to major in Computer Science, but I don’t have tik tok so I swear it’s not because of these bs vids

As someone who got their honours degree in computer networking several years ago and only got the job they were aiming for this year (there's often a fun loop in tech of needing experience to get a starter job which you don't have the experience for), I'd encourage people to look into gov/charity work. Not glamorous and the pay is way lower than private sector but you'll probably still be paid a decent wage and be able to develop your skills. It'll give you the skills/experience/knowledge in a (hopefully, at least somewhat) more relaxed environment that will boost your cv/resume no end if you decide to branch into private sector. My team manages a pretty large network and uses a wide range of technologies so I'm always learning a whole lot. I, personally, see myself staying public sector - the higher wages just don't seem worth sacrificing my work-life balance for.

It’s very simple: the salary ceiling, flexibility, and working conditions are better for software engineers than any other Bachelors-level position in America, full stop. You can work in almost any industry. Remote jobs are very common. EVERYONE needs good tech workers, so finding *any* job is relatively easier than other industries. You can have a better overall career in a field which requires more education or effort (e.g. healthcare or consulting), but it’s very hard to beat tech jobs for a low-risk, 9-5 career. Most people will choose to make their own lives much better over making the world just a tiny bit better and you don’t necessarily need to make the world better through your employer. This is a huge misconception that hurts a lot of students with good intentions but bad employability.

Great social commentary!

It’s hard getting into into tech for sure. I studied Computer Forensics at university and the amount of independent study that goes in is hardcore I would find myself and my friends being at uni from 11AM-10PM long long hours. And on occasions we would go in Saturday and Sunday. But that hard work paid off and I was able to finally get a job in tech after months of applying.

Tech is a great sector to work in, but a mere trend is not a great enough reason to do anything. It's a fantastic sector to work in, and I very strongly recommend applying to whatever firm you like, but please try not to idealize or romanticize things from something seen in a social media feed as that's simply not good from a mental health standpoint. Everyone is as human as you are - never forget that. All best!

The media makes tech this golden ticket to a fancy lifestlye, that if you are good in technical fields, you will be set for life and is a cheat code

Very well-stated thought piece

I really enjoyed this. Being in tech, great perspective

I dropped out of school majoring in cs then decided to come back and change majors but utimately decided to go back into CS . I realize that although there is something a bit robotic (pun intended) with the idea of working in tech or majoring in StEm. There is some flexibility of what I can do at a tech company. I think the hype of getting into these jobs is the promise or the idea that if you can get a job at a decently named startup you are pretty much a magnet for any company and or any office position that hires. With that being said I don’t think many ppl really look at being in tech as a long term thing but as a stepping stool and maybe can help them get into creative ventures or inspire them to go into humanities. I do think that technology will inevitably stil be around till this crumbling society collapse however I also believe there are some ppl maybe even a few companies that offer some light in the midst of the tech bro abyss.

great video, also your eyeliner 🤩

currently in school and studying in my free time to be a software engineer. Definitely more challenging than these tiktoks make it seem- a lot of hard work goes into it, a lot of imposter syndrome. but man oh man getting the program to work is so rewarding. I was always interested but hesitated for a few years since I never saw other black people doing it. Felt like I didn't belong. It's interesting now that "tech toks" exist because I always was afraid of looking like a nerd for going into programming.

Finally, this trend was explained. Thanks for the insight!

It’s interesting because usually people gravitate towards negative news/information on the internet, but in this case it’s the positives people are paying attention to. Its like you said though, the dark side of the tech world is still more profitable than other industries. I think stem is an awesome field, but I wish humanities was equally valued in society.