Approximately Half of IT Engineers Consider Job Change Due to AI; Top Skill to Enhance is "Requirements Definition/Upper-Level Engineering"

"To make Japan an IT advanced nation." With this vision, Leverages Inc. (https://levtech.jp/) conducted the "Survey on Career Awareness and Actual Conditions of IT Engineers in the AI Era" targeting 572 IT engineers.

<Survey Summary>

Approximately half of IT engineers are considering job changes due to AI; 13.9% of those in their 20s have actually changed jobs.

1 in 4 respondents believe their jobs "will not be replaced by AI," pointing to the importance of upper-level engineering and customer understanding.

The top skill IT engineers want to enhance in the AI era is "Requirements Definition/Upper-Level Engineering."

1. Approximately Half of IT Engineers Consider Job Change Due to AI; 13.9% of Those in Their 20s Have Actually Changed Jobs

When IT engineers were asked about the impact of AI proliferation and advancement on their job change intentions, a total of 49.5% indicated they had considered a job change due to AI, including "actually changed jobs (5.6%)," "currently job hunting or considering it (17.3%)," and "have thought about changing jobs but have not taken action (26.6%)."

Looking at age groups, 13.9% of those in their 20s had "actually changed jobs," and 22.9% were "currently job hunting or considering it," which was the highest rate compared to other age groups.

When asked for the reasons why engineers considered job changes due to AI, "felt the risk of work being replaced by AI (29.0%)" was the most common reason, followed by "felt the need to acquire more upper-level engineering and advanced skills (25.8%)."

2. 1 in 4 Respondents Believe Their Jobs "Will Not Be Replaced by AI," Pointing to the Importance of Upper-Level Engineering and Customer Understanding

Regarding the question, "Do you think IT engineer jobs will be replaced by AI?" due to AI's evolution, 37.7% responded "I think so," and 27.8% responded "I don't think so," resulting in divided opinions among IT engineers.

When asked for the reasons by those who answered "I think they will be replaced," the top reasons were "because AI will enable development with fewer people (65.7%)" and "because AI will advance the automation of coding and implementation tasks (62.0%)." On the other hand, from those who answered "I don't think they will be replaced," common responses included "because there will be tasks that AI cannot replace (63.5%)" and "because customer understanding and requirements gathering need to be handled by humans (38.4%)."

3. The Top Skill IT Engineers Want to Enhance in the AI Era is "Requirements Definition/Upper-Level Engineering"

When asked about skills they want to enhance with an eye toward the future AI era, "Requirements Definition/Upper-Level Engineering Skills (38.8%)" was the most frequent answer. Following this were "System Design/Architecture Design (33.0%)" and "AI Model Evaluation/Quality Management (28.7%)."

On the other hand, only 9.6% cited "coding ability," revealing a growing expectation for skills that determine the direction of development and ensure quality, rather than implementation skills themselves.

<Comment from Izumisawa, President and CEO of Leverages Inc.>

This survey revealed that approximately half of IT engineers are considering job changes due to the spread of AI, with this trend being particularly prominent among those in their 20s. In addition to traditional compensation and working styles, it appears that "how to enhance one's market value in the AI era" is becoming a new axis for career choices.

Furthermore, IT engineers who believe their jobs "will not be replaced by AI" cited the importance of areas requiring human judgment and communication, such as customer understanding and requirements gathering. Additionally, requirements definition and system design ranked high as skills to be enhanced in the future, indicating that the value expected of engineers is expanding beyond development and implementation skills to include the ability to identify customer issues and lead them to solutions using technology.

The importance of human resources who can discover customer issues using AI and connect them to the creation of business value will continue to grow.

◆ Izumisawa Masahiro - Profile

Joined Leverages Inc. in 2017. As head of new business, he established the foundation for services by launching the IT-specialized employment support service "Levertech Rookie" and multiple other services.

In 2021, he was appointed General Manager of the Levertech IT Recruiting Division, where he drove business strategy planning, recruitment, and operational optimization, leading the growth of multiple brands from various angles. He was appointed Executive Officer of Levertech in April 2023 and will assume the position of President and CEO on April 1, 2025.

<Survey Overview>

Survey Month: May 26, 2026 - May 28, 2026

Survey Method: Internet Survey

Survey Sponsor: Leverages Inc.

Implementation Contractor: GMO Research & AI Inc.

Valid Responses: 572

Survey Target: IT engineers aged 20-59

Leverages Inc.

Leverages Inc., with its vision of "To make Japan an IT advanced nation," is diversifying its business to include HR services that support job searching and recruitment for IT talent, as well as services that support companies' DX promotion and in-house development.

We aim to drive Japan's economic growth by solving challenges from both corporate and individual perspectives.

▽ "Levertech Freelance" - Agency specializing in freelance engineers

https://freelance.levtech.jp/

▽ "Levertech Creator" - Agency specializing in freelance creators

https://creator.levtech.jp/

▽ "Levertech Direct" - Job site specializing in IT engineers and creators

https://levtech-direct.jp/

▽ "Levertech Career" - Career change support specializing in engineers/creators

https://career.levtech.jp/

▽ "Levertech Rookie" - Employment support agent for new graduates specializing in engineers

https://rookie.levtech.jp/

Leverages Inc. (https://leverages.jp/)

Head Office Location: Shibuya Scramble Square 24F/25F, 2-24-12 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

Representative Director: Tomohide Iwatsuki

Capital: 50 million yen

Established: April 2005

Business Activities: Human resources business, SaaS business, M&A consulting business, etc., primarily in the IT and medical/healthcare fields.

With a focus on "solving social issues," we operate over 60 services in various fields across countries and industries, including human resources, SaaS, and M&A consulting, primarily in the IT and medical/healthcare fields. Since our founding in 2005, we have maintained profitability and exceeded 170 billion yen in annual sales in FY2025. We aim to become a leading global company by leveraging a portfolio management approach that does not limit industries and an in-house organizational structure composed of specialists in each field. *After accounting standard changes.