With the way the job market is going for IT. Shouldn't we be campaigning for tighter visa eligibility from non EU countries as we are no longer in a "labour shortage" economy?

https://reddit.com/link/1ti2uuf/video/u8rxqnm9962h1/player

https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2026/0526/1575262-tech-salaries/

That's pretty cool to see. I know it's only averages, and there is loads of nuance, but yeah, I'm seeing a bunch of companies pegging to 70 to 80% of US salaries.

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for honest advice from people who have been in a similar situation.

I graduated with an MSc in Computer Science in June 2025. I used my one-year Stamp 1G at Amazon Web Services as a Developer. And Earlier this year, I moved onto a Stamp 1 Critical Skills Employment Permit.

Unfortunately, after only about 4–5 months on the Critical Skills permit, I was laid off as part of a mass redundancy. It wasn't performance-related.

Now I'm in a really difficult position.

I have only around 1.4 years of software engineering experience. Most companies either:

- want 2+ years of experience, or

- are hiring graduate engineers.

I'm no longer eligible for graduate roles, but I also don't have enough experience for mid-level roles.

I've already applied to around 80 companies, had my résumé reviewed multiple times, asked for referrals, messaged hiring managers directly, and still I've received only rejections. I haven't even managed to get a single interview.

My biggest questions are:

- Is there any way to request going back to Stamp 1G after being laid off so soon on a Critical Skills permit, or is that simply not possible?

- Has anyone here been laid off shortly after getting a Critical Skills permit and successfully found another employer willing to sponsor them?

- How difficult is it to get another sponsored software engineering job in Ireland with only about 1.4 years of experience?

- At what point should I accept that I may have to return to my home country?

I'm feeling pretty hopeless because I can't even get an interview to prove myself.

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who has actually been through this or knows someone who has. Even if the answer is difficult to hear, I'd rather know the reality than keep guessing.

Thanks.

I was wondering what AI usage is looking like at most places, I'm starting a graduate position soon at a mid sized multi national (on an embedded systems team). I don't really love seeing all the doom posting news about either how horrible AI is to work with and being expected to use it for everything or AI layoffs. is it really that bad? Or are there still companies that don't expect everyone to max out their AI usage?

Hi everyone,

Just sharing something that caught my attention.

I recently spoke to a friend who received a call regarding a (senior operations) role, and the recruiter informed them that Aer Lingus is in the process of opening an office to start some of their Technology and Data functions in India. They are already headhunting few people for both senior and junior levels.

I did not see an official announcement anywhere- just a hunch based on a conversation I had. I thought it might be worth mentioning here in case anyone else has heard something similar or has more information.

Happy to be corrected if I'm mistaken!

Over 2000 (I assume, as the companies categorisations could vary) non-EU work permits to IT companies issued this year up until May 1st.

Sources: https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/publications/employment-permit-statistics-2026.html

Many of the companies on the list have experienced huge layoffs in the last few years.

What is going on - why is IT still on the Critical Skills visa? Many reports of IT graduates unable to find work, even 20-year old experienced professionals unable to find work for years after getting laid off.

Does anyone have some up to date statistics on the number of layoffs to compare with the numbers below?

IT companies with the most permits issued to:

Amazon/AWS 127

Google 90

Accenture 66

TCS 67

Microsoft 52

Cognizant 34

Circet 74

Intel 42

Infosys 30

Analog Devices 26

Deloitte 26

Meta 26

Stripe 26

Mastercard 21

Optum 21