Does Leaving IT Make Sense in 2026?

2025-12-22

At the turn of 2025 and 2026, the question “Is it even worth staying in IT?” is being asked more often than it was just a few years ago. The industry has already gone through a recruitment boom, a sudden slowdown, waves of layoffs in Big Tech, and now a phase of apparent stabilization mixed with growing uncertainty related to AI.

For some people working in IT, not only a change of specialization but a complete exit from the sector is becoming a realistic option. Does that make sense—especially in Poland—in 2026?

The answer is neither a simple “yes” nor a simple “no.” It is worth grounding it in hard labor-market data and a very sober analysis of one’s own situation.

1. Where Is the IT Market Right Now?

1.1. Poland: Stabilization, but Not for Everyone

According to the 2024 IT labor market summary prepared by the WSEI Career Office based on the No Fluff Jobs report, the situation began to stabilize after the crisis year of 2023. The number of job postings was only about 2.6% lower year-on-year, and in Q4 2024 the number of listings was already 22% higher than in the same period of 2023.

However, this stabilization comes at a cost: competition is significantly higher.

  • On average, 44 applications were submitted per job posting in 2024, compared to 40 a year earlier.

  • In some categories, such as frontend, as many as 149 candidates competed for a single position on average.

At the same time, the structure of job offers is changing. Traditional, strictly programming roles (Backend, Fullstack, Frontend) accounted for only about 36.6% of all listings in 2024. The importance of areas such as Security (a 39% year-on-year increase in postings), Data & BI (+34%), as well as Product Management and AI, is growing.

No Fluff Jobs data for 2025 confirms the picture of a market that is “difficult but still profitable for experienced professionals, and very demanding for juniors”:

Median salary ranges (employment contract) in 2025: junior PLN 6–9k gross, mid PLN 12.4–18k, senior PLN 17–23k; higher on B2B contracts.

In 2024, an average of 101 candidates applied for a single junior-level opening, compared to an average of 44 applications per posting across the entire industry.

Meanwhile, the Sedlak & Sedlak IT salary report (fall/winter 2024) shows that:

IT salaries remain among the highest in the country—the sector is consistently identified as the best-paid industry.

Example medians: experienced frontend developer – approx. PLN 23,600 gross, senior mobile developer – approx. PLN 19,167, experienced UX/UI designer – approx. PLN 12,148, junior Java developer – approx. PLN 8,056 gross.

In short: for experts, the market is tougher but still very lucrative, while entry into the industry is steeper than it has been in years.

1.2. The Global Picture: Long-Term Growth, Short-Term Nervousness

Global data is paradoxical. On the one hand:

According to a CompTIA report cited by TechTarget, the number of tech jobs in the U.S. is expected to grow from 6.09 million in 2025 to 7.03 million in 2035, with the fastest growth in data-related roles, cybersecurity, and software development.

An IDC study forecasts that over 90% of organizations worldwide will be affected by IT skills shortages by 2026, potentially generating losses of up to USD 5.5 trillion.

On the other hand:

According to Indeed analyses, the number of tech job postings in the U.S. has fallen by 36% compared to February 2020.

In 2025, more than 178,000 tech employees were laid off across over 600 rounds of reductions (projected 211,000 by year-end).

54% of HR managers in the tech sector admit they are planning layoffs, and nearly half point to automation and AI as the main reasons for cutting simpler roles and positions requiring outdated skills.

Additionally, AI is becoming a component of most IT roles—according to the AI Workforce Consortium, AI-related skill requirements appear in 78% of ICT roles.

The conclusion: IT is not dying globally—it is changing its demand profile. The value of specialists with up-to-date skills (AI, data, cloud, security) is increasing, while the “safe harbor” for simple, repetitive, and business-detached roles is shrinking.

2. The Polish Labor Market in 2026: If Not IT, Then What?

The 2026 Occupational Barometer shows that in Poland no professions are classified as surplus—once again, there is no group of occupations with “too many workers.” At the same time, the number of shortage occupations has fallen to 17, which experts interpret more as a sign of cooling labor demand and corporate caution than of genuine market “healing.”

Long-standing shortage occupations include:

  • truck and bus drivers,

  • electricians, power engineers, welders,

  • nurses, midwives, and elderly care workers,

  • teachers, doctors, warehouse workers, and independent accountants.

Forecasts indicate that in 2026 the most severe staffing shortages will affect healthcare, senior care, energy (especially renewables and specialized construction), as well as logistics and manufacturing.

This is important context:

  • IT is not the only career path with demand for workers.

  • However, many shortage occupations require a licensed trade, specialized certifications, physical labor, or psychologically demanding work, and are often worse paid than mature IT roles.

  • Before “escaping” IT, it is therefore worth understanding what exactly one wants to move into and under what conditions.

3. Where Does the Desire to Leave IT Come From?

The motivations reported by IT professionals usually fall into a few categories:

Junior-level frustration

Graduates of bootcamps and universities who send CVs for 1–2 years and hear only “we’ll get back to you.” With 101 candidates per junior opening, this is not an exception—it is the norm.

Fatigue with the pace of change

The short “half-life” of skills (often said to be 2–3 years) means constant upskilling and rebuilding one’s tech stack, which not everyone wants—or is able—to do indefinitely.

Burnout and disappointment with work culture

long-term projects with little decision-making power,

overtime and constant context switching,

clashes with corporate politics, micromanagement, and “Agile in PowerPoint.”

Fear of AI and automation Layoffs, announcements about “replacing teams with AI,” and real experience with automating parts of the job raise a common question: “Will anyone still need me in 5–10 years?”

Changing life priorities For some people in their thirties and forties, meaning, working with people, or being part of a specific domain (medicine, education, crafts, culture) becomes more important than “another SaaS app.”

All of this is understandable. The problem arises when these emotions lead to the decision “I’m quitting IT—anywhere, just far away”, which is more of an escape than a strategy.

4. Pros and Cons of Leaving IT in 2026

4.1. What Can You Gain?

5. Real demand in certain sectors Industries such as healthcare, senior care, energy, some technical trades, and logistics will face persistent staffing shortages in 2026 due to demographics, generational gaps, and underinvestment in vocational education. This often translates into a stronger sense of being genuinely needed than in an overcrowded frontend market.

6. A chance for more “tangible” work

Not everyone thrives after years of working on abstract software. Alternative paths may include:

  • highly people-oriented roles (psychology, therapy, education, sales),

  • manual professions (crafts, manufacturing, service),

  • mission-driven work (healthcare, education, public services).

3. Using IT skills as leverage, not shackles A person with IT experience entering another industry brings analytical thinking, data skills, automation know-how, and digital tools. In many “traditional” sectors, this can be a major advantage and a path to hybrid roles—for example, process digitalization in logistics, hospital IT, or automation in manufacturing.

4.2. What Can You Lose?

1. Income level Sedlak & Sedlak data clearly shows that IT is among the best-paid sectors in Poland, especially at expert levels. Moving from a senior developer or experienced UX/UI role to a new profession usually means resetting to a “junior” level in the new field, and thus a significant drop in income.

2. Accumulated experience capital Several to a dozen years in IT means:

  • domain knowledge,

  • a professional network,

  • reputation,

  • understanding of business processes.

Leaving the sector entirely makes much of this capital hard to monetize. You are almost starting from scratch among people who know the industry from the inside.

3. The risk of “same problems, new place”

If the main issue is burnout, poor work organization, or conflicts with managers, changing industries without working on personal boundaries and habits may lead to the same problems in a new environment—just for less money.

5. Who Might Benefit from Leaving IT?

5.1. The “Perpetual Junior” Who Entered the Market at the Worst Possible Time

If you:

  • have been trying intensively to break into IT for 1–2 years,

  • have completed bootcamps, built projects, and sent out hundreds of CVs,

  • yet still receive no real offers and every recruitment process ends with a polite “thank you for your participation”,

  • then it is worth looking honestly at the numbers: 101 candidates per junior opening is not a normal entry threshold—it is a structural barrier.

In such a situation, three moves may make sense:

Shifting into a different role within tech (e.g. analytics, QA, low-code, support with a growth path),

Combining IT with another industry where you already have background knowledge (e.g. finance, logistics, marketing),

If that also fails—making a conscious decision to build a career elsewhere, instead of extending a “career limbo” for years.

5.2. The Experienced Specialist Who Simply No Longer Wants to Do IT

If you have:

  • 5–10+ years of experience,

  • a strong market position, but

  • a genuine desire to stop learning new frameworks, living in sprints, and working on products that—subjectively—no longer feel meaningful,

then a career change may make sense, provided that:

  • you accept an initial drop in income,

  • you choose a sector in which you can realistically see yourself for the next 10–20 years,

  • you have a plan to leverage your existing skills (e.g. project management in another industry, consulting, education, or your own business).

This is no longer an “escape,” but a strategic life pivot.

5.3. Someone with a Strong “Calling” Toward Another Field

Some motivations are simply stronger than any spreadsheet:

  • the desire to become a doctor, nurse, therapist, or teacher,

  • a passion for a specific craft or art form,

  • a conscious willingness to trade part of one’s income for a sense of purpose.

If this is a coherent plan rather than a reaction to temporary turbulence in IT, changing industries in 2026 makes sense regardless of what the next labor market reports show.

6. When It’s Better to Stay in IT—but Change Something Within It

For many people, a more rational option than leaving is changing specialization, role, or working model within IT itself.

6.1. You’re Experienced and Working in an Area That Still Has Demand

If you:

  • are a mid/senior in backend, cloud, security, data, or AI,

  • have several years of commercial experience,

  • earn close to the medians reported by No Fluff Jobs / Sedlak & Sedlak,

  • then Polish and global data suggest that smart repositioning is a better move than exiting the industry.

  • In Poland, job postings are growing in Security, Data & BI, AI, and Product Management.

  • Globally, Robert Half and CompTIA reports point to strong demand for AI/ML engineers, data engineers, DevOps engineers, and cloud engineers.

In such cases, the move “I’m quitting IT and doing something completely different” is often an emotional reaction to fatigue, not a rational decision.

6.2. The Problem Is the Specialization, Not the Industry

If you are in a particularly saturated segment of the market (e.g. classic frontend in a stack easily replaceable by low-code or AI tools), it is worth considering:

  • moving closer to backend or infrastructure,

  • transitioning into data, security, or AI,

  • pivoting toward product or analytical roles, if you work well with business stakeholders.

This still requires learning and time, but where real demand exists, it can be more profitable than leaving a sector that—despite everything—remains among the highest-paying.

7. How to Make the Decision: A Simple Framework

Instead of asking abstractly “Does leaving IT make sense in 2026?”, it is better to go through a few concrete steps.

Step 1. A Hard Diagnosis of Your Current Position

  • level of experience (years + projects),

  • specialization,

  • current earnings vs. market medians (No Fluff Jobs, Sedlak & Sedlak),

  • location and mobility,

  • an objective assessment of your portfolio or scope of responsibility.

If you are a mature specialist in a well-paid niche, what you are giving up is far greater than in the case of someone who has been unsuccessfully trying to enter the industry for two years.

Step 2. A Concrete Target Industry, Not “Anything but IT”

Instead of “I’m leaving IT”, ask yourself: “Where exactly am I going?”

  • what typical career paths and earnings look like after 3, 5, and 10 years,

  • what qualifications are required,

  • what the actual day-to-day work looks like—not the outside perception,

  • whether your strengths truly match the role.

It helps to talk to several people in that field—not only the most satisfied ones.

Step 3. Small-Scale Experiments

Instead of “burning bridges”:

  • take courses or training in the new field,

  • try volunteering, internships, or pilot projects,

  • combine part-time IT work with first assignments in the new profession,

  • build a project that connects IT with the new domain (e.g. an app for a medical facility, a warehouse system, automation for a family business).

This allows you to verify whether the work truly suits you before sacrificing your entire professional identity.

Step 4. Financial Calculations and a Transition Plan

  • how long you can sustain lower income,

  • what financial buffer you need (3–12 months, depending on risk profile),

  • whether you can maintain obligations (mortgage, housing, family) during a period of lower pay or no work.

Deciding to “leave IT” without running the numbers is more an act of faith than a strategy.

Step 5. A Plan B Within IT

Even if the conclusion is “yes, I’m leaving IT”, it is wise to have a realistic fallback or alternative use of your skills, such as:

  • technology consulting in the new industry,

  • a “bridge” role between IT and operational processes,

  • side projects in IT that can be developed in parallel.

8. So—Does Leaving IT Make Sense in 2026?

In summary:

  • The IT market is not returning to the golden age of easy entry and double-digit annual raises. Data from Poland and abroad points to stabilization, high competition, pressure for up-to-date skills, and the growing influence of AI.

  • At the same time, long-term demand for technology, data, security, and automation remains very strong, and in many countries IT employment is projected to grow faster than the overall economy.

  • In Poland, other sectors—healthcare, care services, energy, logistics, and certain technical trades—will compete for workers in 2026, but often with lower pay and higher work intensity than mature IT roles.

Leaving IT in 2026 makes sense when:

  • it results from a well-thought-out, long-term plan,

  • it is supported by real market research and small-scale testing,

  • you are ready for a temporary income drop and a “start from the bottom,”

  • the new field offers something that IT—despite all its potential—no longer can.

It does not make sense when it is mainly an escape:

  • from a difficult market entry,

  • from the need to keep skills up to date,

  • from burnout that you will simply carry into another field if you do not address it.

If you have already built a position in IT and work in an area with real demand, 2026 looks more like a moment for a conscious “career renovation” within the sector than the best time to leave it altogether.

If you are stuck as a “perpetual junior” or feel that your professional life truly belongs elsewhere, it may be better to make a difficult but coherent decision now rather than wait for another miracle that labor market reports are unlikely to promise.