[Jjinbit] Popular Workplace Drops from 1st to 7th Place... What Happened to Big Tech?

Survey of US National High School Student Association
Big Tech like Google Falls Outside Top 5 This Year
Students Witnessing Layoffs Value Job Security More

Editor's Note[Jjinbit] is a shortened form of 'Jung Hyunjin's Business Trend' and 'Real Business Trend,' a segment that showcases trends in changes in work.

The National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS) in the United States conducts a survey every two years asking 10,000 American high school students which companies they want to work for after graduation. Typically, this survey tends to yield answers favoring familiar companies with well-known names, so large corporations often appear in the responses. Over the past decade, big tech (large information technology companies) have been regulars in the top ranks. However, this year, no big tech companies appeared in the top five list.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Among big tech companies, the number one company preferred by high school students has been Google. Google ranked first in this survey in 2017. Since then, it dropped to second place in 2018, fourth in 2022, and fell to seventh place this year. Amazon, the second most popular big tech company, dropped from fifth place in 2022 to eighth this year, and Apple slipped from eighth to ninth. Silicon Valley companies have lost popularity among high school students who will become future talents, experiencing what can only be described as a 'humiliation.'

Big tech has been called the 'dream workplace' not only in the United States but worldwide for over a decade since the late 2000s. With enormous salaries exceeding hundreds of millions of won, unlimited benefits symbolized by 'free lunches,' and a free work atmosphere, they have been envied by workers around the world. Using these perks as bait, they swept up top talents from all over the globe. It became difficult for other industries in the U.S., such as semiconductors, to secure and nurture talent.

However, over the past two to three years, the status of big tech has gradually begun to change. Harsh regulations from major countries were imposed on big tech. As growth slowed and future uncertainties increased, some companies like Meta Platforms saw their stock prices plummet. The end of widespread remote work, which had expanded due to COVID-19, and the ensuing office return battles caused conflicts between management and employees, negatively affecting company atmospheres. Apple, Meta, and Amazon were even excluded from the 'Top 50 Global Companies with the Best Corporate Culture in 2022' list.

The final blow came last year when big tech companies, hit by high interest rates and declining profitability, carried out massive layoffs. Google laid off a record 12,000 employees in January alone, and Amazon announced plans to cut thousands of jobs. Apple, which had said "layoffs are a last resort," eventually let go of hundreds of employees and significantly reduced benefits. News of employees leaving companies after receiving a one-line message saying "Do not come to work starting tomorrow" spread worldwide throughout the year via media and social networking services (SNS).

For young people witnessing these scenes, job security has now become crucial. The U.S. online media Business Insider recently reported that "the appeal of tech companies is sharply declining among the smartest high school talents due to job insecurity and other factors." In fact, a survey conducted by a U.S. college student job site found that job stability was the top priority for college graduates seeking employment this year. The top companies students want to join, instead of big tech, were filled with 'traditional strongholds' such as hospitals and other medical institutions with good stability, as well as government agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

The ranking of companies students want to work for inevitably reflects their views on the future growth potential of those companies and the values they pursue as future employees. The results serve as an important factor influencing companies' ability to secure talented employees going forward. It is worth watching where big tech, which has built the future based on talent, will head after losing popularity among students.