State of IT jobs: AI boosts salaries but also burnout and the gender gap

Following the IT and tech hiring boom during the Covid-19 pandemic, companies made space for AI initiatives that resulted in increased layoffs. But new data reveals that some IT hiring trends are starting to turn around.

Pay in the most AI-exposed occupations grew around 46% since 2021, compared to only 25% for jobs in the least-exposed category, according to the Dice Tech Sentiment report. The data reveals this gap began to grow in 2024 and continues to grow as job postings rebound after several rough hiring years.

As organizations begin to realize AI initiatives and investments, they’re now looking to fill their ranks with specialized skillsets, and it’s driving increased compensation. AI has changed the skills businesses need, and 84% of executives report they currently struggle to find specialized local talent while 64% say they feel unprepared for ongoing disruption, according to data from a 2026 report from Globalization Partners.

In a few short years, AI has caused multiple swings in tech hiring. As organizations understand the skills they need to realize AI visions, hiring, for now, appears to be on the upswing for candidates and jobseekers, with more competitive offers. On the employee side, as AI transforms job roles and business functions across every industry, there are, however, increased reports of burnout and a widening gender gap.

Salary boost for specialized skills

AI is currently creating some of the fastest growing and highest paying opportunities in today’s labor market, according to LinkedIn Research. Data reveals that AI job postings have doubled in 2026 from 2023, with the average job listing around $177k in compensation for AI roles, compared to $80k for non-AI roles.

Salary offers and benefit packages have again become more competitive, with 72% of employers saying they’re increasing compensation budgets to attract and retain top talent. Additionally, 65% of tech leaders said they’re offering salaries above their planned range, with 87% stating the top reason being a need to secure candidates with specialized skills, according to Robert Half.

Tech leaders are also seeking specific skills, with 92% acknowledging internal plans to offer higher pay for relevant AI skills. Across every industry, 42% of all business leaders say they’ll pay more for AI-related experience compared to other general tech skills.

Additionally, pay transparency, once relatively taboo in the hiring process, has now become normalized in hiring with 96% of organizations reporting they either already share compensation or plan to soon. Sharing compensation on job postings has several benefits including improving the quality of the candidate pool, more efficient salary negotiation, and a reduced time to hire. Business leaders seem to recognize the benefits, with 67% of employers saying their company takes pay transparency beyond legal requirements, offering more information than is legally required, adds Robert Half.

AI accelerates employee burnout

As daily AI use quadrupled over the past year, burnout doubled and confidence in tech’s long-term future dropped from 80 to 60%, according to Dice. The data reveals around 74% of employees say they plan to change employers in the next year, and 55% say they’re actively job searching, despite only 41% saying they believe they’ll find a better position.

Dice also reveals nearly half of all employed tech professionals report feeling burnout, with around 25% describing themselves as very burned out. And among those reporting burnout, tech and AI professionals express the highest rates.

High levels of burnout can cost companies lost productivity and hurt bottom lines. In 2025, a staggering 10 trillion was estimated to have been lost globally due to disengaged and burnt out employees, according to Globalization Parters. If companies are losing profits through employee burnout, costs of AI investments need to be greater priorities when planning AI initiatives.

AI is meant to boost productivity and efficiency, but Dice says that while speed without guardrails might create advantages for some, it’ll create anxiety for others. Similar to pay transparency, organizations must practice AI transparency. Yet fewer than half of employers report having formal AI policies in place to govern or dictate its use in the enterprise, adds Dice. 

AI gender gap emerges

While there’ve been efforts to move the needle on gender diversity in IT and tech over the years, AI has revealed another gender bias the tech industry will need to contend with to reach gender parity. Tech has always struggled with gender equity despite concerted efforts to make IT and STEM jobs more appealing to women.

Unfortunately, despite efforts to create cultural shifts, AI has once again widened the gender gap in tech. According to further data from LinkedIn Research, women only accounted for 26% of AI hires in the US in 2025, compared to 50% of hires into non-AI roles. And of course, the numbers drop more at the C-suite level, where only 13% of AI leadership at AI companies is held by women.

AI roles have also largely gone to candidates with college degrees with 91% of AI workers holding a bachelor’s degree or higher, moving up to 95% for C-suite and director level positions, so there’s an additional lack of opportunity for those women without a traditional education. Tech and IT leaders will need to avoid falling back into the old hiring patterns that initially caused an absence of representation in tech.  

Plus, there’s an emerging gender gap on AI sentiment, with women holding more negative views than their male peers when asked about the impact of AI over the next 20 years, according to data from Pew Research. Women were more likely to say they felt negatively about the impact of AI on themselves personally (33%) and on society overall (43%), compared to 27% and 36% of men who said the same, respectively. Inversely, only 11% of women said they felt positively about AI’s impact on society, while 22% of men said they felt positive.

Women are also more likely to say AI is advancing too quickly — 68% compared to 58% of men. These opposing sentiments might contribute to the overall gender gap in AI roles, as women show more hesitation and caution with AI tools compared to male colleagues.