Today, I want to deviate from the standard format you might be used to in my content. There will be no five-step guide to success, nor three questions that will change your life. Instead, let’s sit down and talk honestly about the state of the job market and why so many people get stuck, struggling to navigate it.
I have the impression that a certain atmosphere of catastrophism has taken over the public debate about working in IT. I hear it in conversations, I see it on the KajoDataSpace Discord, I feel it in the emails I receive. But is the situation really as dramatic as it is being painted? In my opinion, everything is a matter of perspective.
The illusion of an easy job market
If we look at salary reports or statistics on the number of job postings, it is true that the market for juniors has become significantly more difficult than it was just a few years ago. However, I feel we have a tendency to idealize the past. I remember the pre-COVID times – it wasn’t easy then either. When I was changing industries myself, wanting to become an analyst, the barrier to entry wasn’t a lack of job offers, but the lack of specific degrees. If you didn’t have an IT or math degree, the conversation often ended before it really began.
Today’s job ads with a requirement of five years of experience are basically the same as the ads from back then requiring relevant degrees. If you graduated with a degree in Polish philology, like I did, you felt exactly the same then as today’s juniors who apply without sufficient experience. The rejection rate for offers was huge. I am not saying this to engage in “back in my day it was harder” rhetoric, but to make us realize that the pessimism surrounding us today is largely due to how much we “soak up” negative news.
Two types of people in the job market
Observing the KajoDataSpace community and the people I advise, I have noticed a clear division into two groups. The one you belong to determines your success more than any market trend.
The first type are people who, before taking any action, must check if it “pays off”. Their strategy is based on constant evaluation of reality. They draw knowledge from media, friends, podcasts – they build a picture of the world based on this and try to fit themselves into it. These are the ones saying: “there are few offers,” “my cousin didn’t find a job,” “the best times are behind us”. The problem is that this attitude leads to decision paralysis. They start treating the market like a finished game where opportunities dried up with the arrival of AI or economic changes.
The second type are people who focus on their own plan. They don’t constantly ask if it pays off; instead, they ask: “what is my next best move?”. An example of this attitude is Izabela Wittczak, founder of the Data Ecolite Discord. When things didn’t work out for her in sports, she didn’t look for excuses in the state of the economy; she simply went into data analysis, asking: “what do I need to do?”. That is a massive difference in approach.
AI and the trap of catastrophizing
We must also touch on the topic of artificial intelligence. When GPT entered the market, the narrative was clear: IT would be wiped out to zero, and the profession of a software engineer or analyst would cease to exist. Do you remember the noise at the turn of 2024 and 2025? Nothing of the sort happened. Furthermore, companies began hiring people back because it turned out that AI does not replace quality and repeatability, but merely generates too many errors.
This is a perfect example of how we think about the future. Our brains have a tendency to “cut out” fragments of reality and create simplified extrapolations based on them. “GPT does analysis in Excel, so as an analyst, I will lose my job.” This is not obvious. A bigger trend is that participating in the digital world is becoming the foundation of the modern economy. People with digital skills have an advantage that cannot be ignored.
The cost of change and unknown unknowns
I often hear suggestions: “maybe I’ll quit IT and become a carpenter.” That sounds romantic, but we rarely consider the “cost of change”. Abandoning all your professional experience, office work skills, and starting a new industry from scratch is a huge challenge.
There is a concept here of “unknown unknowns” – things we don’t know that we don’t know. When you decide on a drastic turn in your career, you don’t know the price realities, demand, or actual earnings in that new industry. Possessing digital skills gives us a unique opportunity on a global scale: working from anywhere. As a steelworker or a carpenter, you are tied to a physical location, unless your goal is to build a business based on physical products, which is a completely different path of development.
Evaluation kills happiness
Returning to my observations – the most important lesson I have learned from years of work is that constant evaluation kills happiness. If you ask yourself every day “am I happy?”, “is it worth it?”, “will AI replace me?”, then you instantly stop taking action.
Instead, I propose changing your approach. Let’s do more, think less. If you want to become a data analyst, don’t analyze every market report. Take a course, learn SQL, build a project, join a community like KajoDataSpace, where people not only talk about “profitability” but, above all, execute their plans.
There is a lot of happiness in doing, while in constant overthinking – only guilt or fear of the future. If you think this material gave you something to think about or will help someone make a decision to take action, please share it on your social media. Let’s send a signal to others that instead of analyzing the catastrophe, it is worth simply doing your thing.
The article was written by Kajo Rudziński – analytical data architect, recognized expert in data analysis, creator of KajoData and polish community for analysts KajoDataSpace.
That’s all on this topic. Analyze in peace!
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