Tech Industry job layoffs looking scary

[IIVI]

I’m honestly glad I didn’t spend the last few years grinding Leetcode and did something more productive with my time (BSEE).

Back in the day of course they wanted people to know this stuff to utilize efficient algorithms. However today these A.I’s write incredible algorithms and you can verify snippets with other A.I’s.

Now, I’ve been critical about verifying A.I code and not trusting it 100%, but things like algorithms are A.I’s strong point and probably know it more than humans because it’s simple math and logic, inputs and outputs. There are a shytload of Graphs and Trees code out there that it’s been trained on.

A.I is a monster at locally-scoped code and that’s all Leetcode is.

 

[CopiousX]

I’m honestly glad I didn’t spend the last few years grinding Leetcode and did something more productive with my time (BSEE).

Back in the day of course they wanted people to know this stuff to utilize efficient algorithms. However today these A.I’s write incredible algorithms and you can verify snippets with other A.I’s.

Now, I’ve been critical about verifying A.I code and not trusting it 100%, but things like algorithms are A.I’s strong point and probably know it more than humans because it’s simple math and logic, inputs and outputs. There are a shytload of Graphs and Trees code out there that it’s been trained on.

A.I is a monster at locally-scoped code and that’s all Leetcode is.

It was stupid, and repetitive busy work for fang to weed out candidates. even worse was the take-home tests that would take you hours only for them to not pick your application anyway



Everyone knew it had no bearing whatsoever on actual company projects. Hopefully now they transition to asking concept questions or testing you directly on the company's stack.

Duolingo will replace contract workers with AI

Duolingo is making some AI-focused changes.

www.theverge.com

​

​

Duolingo will replace contract workers with AI​

The company is going to be ‘AI-first,’ says its CEO.

by Jay Peters

Apr 28, 2025, 7:47 PM EDT

Duolingo co-founder and CEO Luis von Ahn. Photo: Getty Images

Jay Peters is a news editor covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme.

Duolingo will “gradually stop using contractors to do work that AI can handle,” according to an all-hands email sent by co-founder and CEO Luis von Ahn announcing that the company will be “AI-first.” The email was posted on Duolingo’s LinkedIn account.

According to von Ahn, being “AI-first” means the company will “need to rethink much of how we work” and that “making minor tweaks to systems designed for humans won’t get us there.” As part of the shift, the company will roll out “a few constructive constraints,” including the changes to how it works with contractors, looking for AI use in hiring and in performance reviews, and that “headcount will only be given if a team cannot automate more of their work.”

von Ahn says that “Duolingo will remain a company that cares deeply about its employees” and that “this isn’t about replacing Duos with AI.” Instead, he says that the changes are “about removing bottlenecks” so that employees can “focus on creative work and real problems, not repetitive tasks.”

Related​

• Shopify CEO says no new hires without proof AI can’t do the job

“AI isn’t just a productivity boost,” von Ahn says. “It helps us get closer to our mission. To teach well, we need to create a massive amount of content, and doing that manually doesn’t scale. One of the best decisions we made recently was replacing a slow, manual content creation process with one powered by AI. Without AI, it would take us decades to scale our content to more learners. We owe it to our learners to get them this content ASAP.”

von Ahn’s email follows a similar memo Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke sent to employees and recently shared online. In that memo, Lütke said that before teams asked for more headcount or resources, they needed to show “why they cannot get what they want done using AI.”

Here’s the text of von Ahn’s memo from Duolingo’s LinkedIn post:

I swear, this is exactly what I was talking about in the other thread. What a coincidence


He really thinks that users are stupid enough to go through his company as a middle man when they can generate their own language curriculum with native voices themselves. It's the same trap that chegg fell into. The users don't need his whole corporation, any more than he needs his employees because of AI.




Outside of social Network services and large database applications that are too unweildy to do locally, i feel like most saas providers will need a new business model soon.

 

[CopiousX]

And even in this economy it doesnt even matter what school you go to anymore. You can still come from a ivy school but they will still ask for experience. The playing field is the same now. Just go to a community college. I can't imagine doing all that extra shyt when you are young and should enjoy highschool just to be able to enter one of these IVY collega's. And then get rejected

A lot of these peoples whole personality is based on getting into these schools

CS is becoming like hard science fields like physics, material science, or chemistry where you will need to intern for several years after college before landing a job.

And i suspect they will try to weed out candidates by raising the bar to a masters, despite self taught(ers) being able to do the exact same job 2 years ago.

 

[IIVI]

It was stupid, and repetitive busy work for fang to weed out candidates. even worse was the take-home tests that would take you hours only for them to not pick your application anyway



Everyone knew it had no bearing whatsoever on actual company projects. Hopefully now they transition to asking concept questions or testing you directly on the company's stack.

What’s funny is I actually prefer the take home tests. It ends up being less time spent overall than grinding Leetcode. If you actually got a call back and they broke down the code, that’s actually good feedback for things like your architecture philosophy.

I can completely understand though how employers screw people over though if someone put in a lot of time into a take home and they don’t bother to make a follow-up call.

 

[DJSmooth]

I’m honestly glad I didn’t spend the last few years grinding Leetcode and did something more productive with my time (BSEE).

Back in the day of course they wanted people to know this stuff to utilize efficient algorithms. However today these A.I’s write incredible algorithms and you can verify snippets with other A.I’s.

Now, I’ve been critical about verifying A.I code and not trusting it 100%, but things like algorithms are A.I’s strong point and probably know it more than humans because it’s simple math and logic, inputs and outputs. There are a shytload of Graphs and Trees code out there that it’s been trained on.

A.I is a monster at locally-scoped code and that’s all Leetcode is.

shyt let me go apply

 

[DJSmooth]

What’s funny is I actually prefer the take home tests. It ends up being less time spent overall than grinding Leetcode. If you actually got a call back and they broke down the code, that’s actually good feedback for things like your architecture philosophy.

I can completely understand though how employers screw people over though if someone put in a lot of time into a take home and they don’t bother to make a follow-up call.

They don't select you I just put it on Github it's not a big deal.

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

Got the most nitpicky of reasons why one interviewer said “no” and fukked my whole motion with this company. Felt I didn’t go deep enough into “how” to do something - said I knew what to do, just felt incomplete in the how. Like that’s the ONLY thing that was “feedback” from across the three people I spoke with. That was an Asian dude…like wtf, anyone who knows what to look for can figure out how to execute it. Like not knowing what info you need would be a red flag, but how? Literally a google search or working with someone else on the team could help you.

 

[DrBanneker]

And even in this economy it doesnt even matter what school you go to anymore. You can still come from a ivy school but they will still ask for experience. The playing field is the same now. Just go to a community college. I can't imagine doing all that extra shyt when you are young and should enjoy highschool just to be able to enter one of these IVY collega's. And then get rejected

A lot of these peoples whole personality is based on getting into these schools

New college grads face a tougher job market — again​

New college grads face a tougher job market — again

Pessimism runs high in the class of 2025 after entry-level hiring prospects have tightened for two years straight and a student debt crackdown begins.

www.nbcnews.com

Pessimism runs high in the class of 2025 after entry-level hiring prospects have tightened for two years straight and a student debt crackdown begins.

Employers have pulled back plans to hire more new grads over just the last six months, according to a February and March survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, which polled major companies including Chevron, PepsiCo and Southwest Airlines. While most said their new-grad recruitment plans are holding steady, the share of respondents planning to expand entry-level hiring dipped to 24.6% this spring. That’s down from 27% last fall and the lowest rate since autumn 2020, during the depths of the pandemic.

It's crazy to see all this come full circle. I remember in the late 90s and 00s I had some friends that taught themselves Microsoft or Cisco certifications and were making bank without a college degree. They only went back for the degree for career advance and some saved enough to pay out of pocket.

That shyt is DONE DONE

 

[JT-Money]

 

[DJSmooth]

Got the most nitpicky of reasons why one interviewer said “no” and fukked my whole motion with this company. Felt I didn’t go deep enough into “how” to do something - said I knew what to do, just felt incomplete in the how. Like that’s the ONLY thing that was “feedback” from across the three people I spoke with. That was an Asian dude…like wtf, anyone who knows what to look for can figure out how to execute it. Like not knowing what info you need would be a red flag, but how? Literally a google search or working with someone else on the team could help you.

it's like dating, if they don't want you they don't want you. If you were some nerdy Asian lady from Cal Berkeley probably would have passed you along. Nothing you can do about it some days.

 

[threattonature]

Got the most nitpicky of reasons why one interviewer said “no” and fukked my whole motion with this company. Felt I didn’t go deep enough into “how” to do something - said I knew what to do, just felt incomplete in the how. Like that’s the ONLY thing that was “feedback” from across the three people I spoke with. That was an Asian dude…like wtf, anyone who knows what to look for can figure out how to execute it. Like not knowing what info you need would be a red flag, but how? Literally a google search or working with someone else on the team could help you.

I definitely wouldn't ignore the racism possiblities with it. I remember back when I was the hiring manager, I was conducting an interview with the owner of the company. It was a young black dude that I thought had a great interview. Answered all the questions with answers we wanted to hear. I was all prepared to make him an offer but the owner was a no. His reasoning is because the black dude mispronounced Cobal and said Cobalt and used that as justification to say that he believes he's lying about all of his experience so doesn't want to hire him. Pissed me all the way off cause he was a great candidate. And outside of me we had only ever hired three other black folks in the five years i was there and all three flamed out quick. Had me looking at that owner sideways from that point on.

 

[JT-Money]

It's crazy to see all this come full circle. I remember in the late 90s and 00s I had some friends that taught themselves Microsoft or Cisco certifications and were making bank without a college degree. They only went back for the degree for career advance and some saved enough to pay out of pocket.

That shyt is DONE DONE

I started in 2007 during the Great Recession and it wasn't this bad. Tech workers all need to develop an exit strategy. Too much outsourcing of jobs being blamed on AI as cover.

 

[Blessings]

Got the most nitpicky of reasons why one interviewer said “no” and fukked my whole motion with this company. Felt I didn’t go deep enough into “how” to do something - said I knew what to do, just felt incomplete in the how. Like that’s the ONLY thing that was “feedback” from across the three people I spoke with. That was an Asian dude…like wtf, anyone who knows what to look for can figure out how to execute it. Like not knowing what info you need would be a red flag, but how? Literally a google search or working with someone else on the team could help you.

I'ma shoot the interviewer some bail depending on the question...
Journey (How)>>>>Destination (What)

+ dealing with bias (racism, people using chatGPT during interviews)

Due to the ChatGPT angle, the how is sometimes more important than the what

 

[Rick Fox at UNC]

Got the most nitpicky of reasons why one interviewer said “no” and fukked my whole motion with this company. Felt I didn’t go deep enough into “how” to do something - said I knew what to do, just felt incomplete in the how. Like that’s the ONLY thing that was “feedback” from across the three people I spoke with. That was an Asian dude…like wtf, anyone who knows what to look for can figure out how to execute it. Like not knowing what info you need would be a red flag, but how? Literally a google search or working with someone else on the team could help you.

Not the way it works.

You should know how, what, why it was created, what problem it was created to solve, what the downsides and drawbacks are, and so on.

Shows you have domain knowledge, implementation and troubleshooting experience. Shows you've pushed the limits or at least thought about the limits of what something was designed to do.

Dude asks about a protocol. Tell him the history of it, what problem it solves, alternatives, where it gets sticky. How it works in depth, how it works in Linux vs. Windows, who created it, and so on.

You ask me about TCP, you'll get 10 minutes on the history, going all the way back to Vint Cerf (who used to be a co-worker).

You make them stop you from talking. You should be answering five questions to the one they ask.

 

[Rick Fox at UNC]

I'ma shoot the interviewer some bail depending on the question...
Journey (How)>>>>Destination (What)

+ dealing with bias (racism, people using chatGPT during interviews)

Due to the ChatGPT angle, the how is sometimes more important than the what

People don't get it. Think it's because dude was asian.

Not going to make it. I wouldn't want someone who thinks like that on my team.

Dude didn't know the answers. Get better.