It might sound like a conspiracy to say that tech workers are subject to a rigged job market designed by billionaires for the consolidation of wealth and power.

After 2+ years of continued instability, mass layoffs, a hellacious job market, wage stagnation, RTO mandates, and ever increasing workloads, we need no more proof that Big Tech bosses and their acolytes see workers as disposable cogs in a machine.

Amy talks with Lauren Friedman, founder of Workforce Consulting, LLC, to unpack the hidden forces and power plays shaping the tech job market. With extensive experience in tech recruiting and workforce consulting, Lauren spills the tea on the machinations of Big Tech to hoard talent, knowledge, and money as a deliberate business strategy with disastrous consequences for millions of tech workers.

Precarity has come to tech work, but you don’t have to be a fish in a barrel. We have the individual and collective power to enact change and survive this together.

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Episode transcript

It's been a tough couple of years for UX research professionals, and many are considering pivoting their careers within tech or beyond.

Leadership coach Tatiana Vlahovic reminds us that researchers plenty of marketable skills that can be applied in other contexts and roles. Challenging as they may be, professional and personal inflection points present opportunities for UXR practitioners and leaders to expand and evolve their careers.

During this time of uncertainty, we hope this episode causes listeners to ponder an important question: What do I really want for my career and life, and what will I do to get there?

Tatiana Vlahovic is the founder of Nurturing Clarity, a boutique leadership coaching and development firm where she creates custom partnerships for leaders and teams in UX, tech, and beyond to support them through leadership challenges and to open new possibilities.

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Transcript

In this AMA, Amy and Laura (or maybe her doppelgänger) answer some listener-submitted questions.

- Hiring managers want UX rock stars, so how do you get hired if you've had the misfortune of working in places where you weren’t supported or were underutilized, and didn't get to have much impact or work on cool stuff?

- How do you describe work impact on your resume if it's not tracked or measured, a project got canceled, or you got laid off and don't know what happened?

- What should specialist designers do in a job market that favors generalists and visual design skills? Is a generalist path still viable?

- A role for Senior UXR at Amazon wants 6+ years leading research projects with demonstrated impact. Would academic research count toward this?

- I was recently interviewing for a job and the salary I discussed with the recruiter was $105K-$110K CAD. I got the job and now they’re offering me $82K-$90K CAD. Is there a way to re-negotiate this offer?

- What’s your take on engaging with LinkedIn content that's critical about the inhumanities of the job search?

Bonus: find out how Laura really feels about Figma.

Please support our work by leaving a rating and review, telling your friends, or throwing us a few gold doubloons!

Transcript