IT Jobs Outlook 2025: Evolving Skills, AI, Workplace Flexibility Will Shape IT Workforce

Despite a significant rise in tech unemployment and layoffs as recent as August, the demand for tech professionals remains robust, suggesting an overall healthy market for IT pros in the year ahead.

CompTIA's review of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data revealed a drop of 28,000 IT positions in August and another 4,000 positions in October, although September saw an increase of 8,583 IT positions. Data compiled by Layoffs.fyi, meanwhile, found tech layoffs surged to more than 26,000 in October — the highest since January — although layoffs in September and October were less than 4,000 each month, the lowest all year.

These mixed signals reflect a broader shift in the IT labor market, as companies focus on freeing up capital for AI initiatives while simultaneously seeking talent to drive innovation.

As organizations increasingly prioritize AI-driven projects, the skill sets desired in tech professionals are evolving.

Expertise in AI, machine learning, and data analytics is becoming critical, reshaping the job market for 2025.

Nicolas Avila, CTO of North America at Globant, said the changes in the job market over the next year should be understood as an evolution of skills and roles in demand due to technological advancements.

"While new innovations drive the creation of jobs, they also shift business priorities, which may result in layoffs or business restructuring," he said. "The best way to ensure IT professionals are future-proofing their careers is by remaining flexible and adapting to change."

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Avila advised IT workers to remain up to date with current trends that may affect their roles and develop cross-disciplinary expertise to elevate their value.

"While the mixed signals of the job market can be difficult to navigate, IT professionals can strategically prepare themselves for potential shifts to ensure they can continue to make career moves," he said.

Honing Skills, Collecting Certs

Gordon Nhieu, manager of IT at Drata, said IT professionals looking to transition in 2025 should focus on honing a combination of technical skills and certifications to remain competitive in the job market.

"No-code automation tools like Okta Workflows and Zapier will be in demand, enabling rapid process automation without deep coding knowledge," he said.

Nhieu added that cloud computing expertise, particularly certifications such as AWS Solutions Architect and Microsoft Azure Administrator, will remain crucial as organizations continue to migrate to cloud environments.

Foundational security knowledge, like that covered in CompTIA Security+, will be essential to protect against evolving cyberthreats, and infrastructure as code will gain prominence, making certifications like HashiCorp Certified: Terraform Associate valuable.

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"Additionally, scripting with Python or Bash will be critical for automating routine tasks," Nhieu explained.

He added soft skills such as communication and problem-solving will be equally important, ensuring professionals can collaborate effectively across diverse teams.

Search for Quality of Talent

Vishal Saxena, CTO at Octus (formerly Reorg), said as his company's hiring manager for technology and IT jobs, he looks more at the quality of engineers rather than their role.

"Whether you're a DevOps, full stack engineer, front end or data science engineer, the most important skill is the ability to solve complex problems," he said.

Saxena added that with the proliferation of AI in technology, the complexity of problems is growing.

"If you're able to bring disparate concepts — like AI and data architecture — together at scale, you'll be more in demand," he said. "Right now, we have a shortage of quality engineers."

In its current state, AI is creating more opportunities and will have a positive impact in 2025, he added.

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"With AI, we can solve more problems than ever before, and that creates more opportunities for jobs and skill sets in the market," Saxena said. "I don't believe we are at the point yet where AI is impacting IT jobs because it can't write and execute code at scale."

He explained some of Reorg's engineers have been using GitHub Copilot to write code, but they still must tune it and make it executable.

"AI is designed to replace jobs that are very repeatable — the work software developers do isn't very repeatable, and so it's hard for AI to replace them," he said. "In the next 2-3 years, however, we could start to see AI impacting IT jobs in a negative way."

IT Jobs of the Future

CIOs and IT leaders are likely to prioritize problem-solving and creative thinking skills to keep organizations competitive, especially in emerging fields like cloud computing, AI, and data analytics, according to Avila.

"The ability to be flexible and adaptable to change, coupled with strong communication, will be essential skills as IT professionals navigate a constantly changing IT landscape," he said.

AI's role in the software development lifecycle has created new efficiencies in handling things like code generation, documentation, and error detection, Avila said.

"This is requiring development teams to instead focus on other areas like quality assurance, product innovation, ethical considerations, and collaboration with other stakeholders," he said.

IT leaders will require skill sets related to these areas as well as seek out direct AI skills and experience, such as employees with a deep knowledge of machine learning, large language models (LLMs) and AI-powered tools.

"The introduction of new technologies like generative AI has opened the door to a new era of IT skills next year," Avila said.

Saxena said when he looks at opportunities for IT jobs in the coming years, it is less about the industry and more about what the companies are doing within those industries.

"For example, I think companies that are creating proprietary, embedded software solutions for their customers are creating a lot of opportunities for tech talent," he said.

When considering career moves in 2025, it will be essential for IT pros to look at their experience and ability to solve the complex challenges facing organizations.

"When you look at the types of jobs being eliminated and the job openings, there's a theme," Saxena said. "If your experience has been in more of a cookie cutter type of IT role — those are the ones being eliminated."

As AI-embedded software, cloud technology, and cybersecurity initiatives continue to expand, engineers with those unique skill sets and experience in handling complex problems are the ones in demand.

"The jobs that are currently going away are not the ones that are in demand," Saxena said.

Flexibility and Remote Work

The adaptability of remote work models provides flexibility in the face of unexpected challenges, while ongoing advancements in collaboration tools make remote work more efficient and effective, according to Avila.

"While some companies may prioritize in-person collaboration, the overall demand for remote work remains strong and could significantly shape the future of the workplace for IT professionals," he said.

Saxena agrees that flexibility will be important and the two extremes of working exclusively from home or five-day office requirements won't fly anymore — even with Amazon's recent announcement of a five-day return-to-office mandate.

"Organizations are starting to realize that having those in-person office touchpoints are essential for team building, collaboration, and solving complex challenges," he said. "It's far more difficult to solve these problems in isolation from your home office."

However, there is also a recognition that talent exists everywhere, not just in big cities, he added.

"While we love a more hybrid approach, fully remote employees will also have a place in our ecosystem," Saxena explained.

Nhieu predicts remote work flexibility will remain highly important for IT professionals in 2025. In fact, IT professionals responding to ITPro Today's 2024 Salary Survey claim working remotely has had the most positive impact on their mental health.

"I anticipate this trend continuing well into the foreseeable future," Nhieu said.

As the demand for work-life balance grows and the tech industry evolves, the ability to work remotely will continue to be a key factor in attracting and retaining top talent.

Networking, Resume Tailoring

Scott Wheeler, cloud practice lead at Asperitas, offered some practical strategies for IT professionals to stand out in a crowded job market, which include professional networking, understanding industry needs, and tailoring a resume.

"The best way to land the job you want continues to be networking, as personal connections cut through the red tape of hiring," Wheeler said. "The best way to network is to have someone you know who works at the company recommend you."

Networking can also be done via professional organizations, industry events including AWS re:Invent or Microsoft Ignite, or more general IT industry networking events, he noted.

Wheeler said it is critical to understand the skills needed in the companies you are targeting and the industry in general, then focus on obtaining those skills.

"This can be done through formal training, but the best path is to do hands-on projects even if you are not compensated for your time," he said.

Wheeler also recommended customizing each job application by aligning skills and experience with the job's specific requirements.

He noted it is important to use keywords and phrases that mirror the job posting to ensure you get past applicant tracking systems (ATS).

"Highlight soft skills like collaboration, communication, and leadership in addition to your technical abilities," Wheeler added.