The economic crisis is hitting the Silicon Valley technology industry hard. Shaken by a wave of layoffs and salary cuts, the sector - characterized by abundant employment and high salaries - has changed. Many tech workers have lost their jobs and others are struggling to make ends meet.

Plummeting salaries and layoffs in Silicon Valley

According to PayScale, "the median salary for a software engineer in Silicon Valley ranges from $94,000 to $162,000 per year. The median salary is $128,000, nearly 19% more than the median annual salary for all computer science and math professions."

However, according to research from Women Impact Tech, the Bay Area saw the largest drop in wages (15% between 2022 and 2023) compared to other tech hubs.

It's not just the drop in wages, massive job cuts were carried out across the region last year. Even workers at big tech companies (Meta, Apple and Google ) have faced waves of layoffs. Since 2022, companies in the region have cut around 40,000 positions.

Krista DeWeese, a 47-year-old marketing professional from Fremont, said she has been fired four times in the last eight years (More than 10 years ago, he earned around $100,000 ), and currently works as a contractor at a health sciences company earning 15% less. "Despite his education and long experience, he struggles to find a secure job that pays enough to keep up with the high cost of living in the Bay Area":