Those with the most secure footing are the most afraid
En España, los trabajadores tecnológicos disfrutan de salarios superiores, mayor satisfacción laboral y más poder de negociación que el resto de la población activa, y sin embargo son ellos quienes más temen que la inteligencia artificial destruya su empleo. Esta paradoja —la angustia más aguda entre quienes tienen más que perder y más herramientas para adaptarse— revela que el conocimiento íntimo de una tecnología no protege del miedo que esa misma tecnología inspira. El estudio de InfoJobs retrata a una profesión que habita la contradicción: construye el futuro durante el día y lo teme por la noche.
- El 52% de los profesionales tecnológicos españoles cree que la IA destruirá empleo en su sector, trece puntos por encima de la media nacional, a pesar de ser los trabajadores mejor posicionados del mercado.
- La confianza en la propia irreemplazabilidad se ha desplomado en un solo año: del 36% al 22%, una caída de más de un tercio que refleja cómo el uso cotidiano de herramientas de IA erosiona la certeza sobre el propio valor.
- El 91% ya utiliza inteligencia artificial en su trabajo diario, lo que significa que no anticipan una amenaza lejana, sino que conviven con ella en cada tarea y cada proyecto.
- Aunque el 65% recibió un aumento salarial en los últimos dos años —el doble que la media—, el poder adquisitivo se ha deteriorado al mismo ritmo que el del resto de trabajadores, disolviendo la ventaja material en el coste de vida.
- El sector percibe que el mercado laboral empeora a su alrededor: encontrar puestos con mejor conciliación o mayor salario es cada vez más difícil, y pierden terreno más rápido que otros, aunque todavía desde una posición más elevada.
Los trabajadores tecnológicos españoles ocupan una posición privilegiada en el mercado laboral: casi la mitad gana más de dos mil euros al mes, negocian aumentos con más frecuencia y éxito que sus pares, y reportan mayor satisfacción con sus condiciones. Un informe de InfoJobs recogido por Servimedia dibuja un sector que, sobre el papel, parece un refugio frente a la precariedad generalizada.
Y sin embargo, el 52% de estos profesionales cree que la inteligencia artificial destruirá empleo en su campo, trece puntos por encima del 39% que sostiene ese temor entre la población activa general. La paradoja es llamativa: quienes más usan la IA —el 91% frente al 63% del resto— son también quienes más desconfían de su propia posición. En un año, la proporción de técnicos que se consideran difícilmente reemplazables cayó del 36% al 22%. No es ignorancia lo que alimenta el miedo, sino precisamente el conocimiento.
Los datos materiales no justifican del todo esa angustia. El 65% recibió un aumento salarial en los últimos dos años, casi el doble que la media nacional, y el 31% planea pedir otro próximamente. Ahorran más —un 14% de su salario frente al 10% general— y recortan menos cuando aprieta la economía. Pero el poder adquisitivo ha caído al mismo ritmo que para el resto de trabajadores: el 37% dice que su capacidad de compra ha empeorado, cifra casi idéntica al 38% del conjunto de empleados. La ventaja salarial no se ha traducido en una ventaja vital.
El sector también percibe que el mercado se estrecha: encontrar empleos con mejor conciliación o mejor salario resulta más difícil que el año pasado. Pierden terreno más deprisa que otros, aunque todavía desde una cota más alta. La pregunta que sobrevuela el informe es si esa altura será suficiente cuando las herramientas que manejan cada día sigan ganando capacidad, y cuando el miedo que hoy afecta a la mitad del sector empiece a traducirse en decisiones concretas.
Spain's technology workers are among the best-paid professionals in the country. Nearly half earn more than two thousand euros a month. They report higher job satisfaction than their peers in other sectors. They save more aggressively. They negotiate raises more often and more successfully. And yet, fifty-two percent of them believe artificial intelligence will destroy jobs in their field.
That fear runs thirteen percentage points deeper than anxiety about AI among the general Spanish workforce, where thirty-nine percent hold the same worry. The gap is striking because it inverts the usual pattern: those with the most secure footing are the most afraid. An InfoJobs study, reported by Servimedia, captures a profession caught between material advantage and existential unease.
The numbers that define tech workers' position are clear. Forty-three percent earn above two thousand euros monthly, compared to twenty-three percent of all employed Spaniards. The median satisfaction rating for their salaries sits at 5.8 out of 10, versus 5.2 for the broader workforce. Twenty-three percent describe themselves as very satisfied with what they earn; only twenty percent of other workers say the same. Dissatisfaction affects twenty-seven percent of tech professionals, against thirty-three percent of all employees. On paper, the sector looks like a refuge.
Yet the anxiety about AI cuts across this advantage. The irony deepens when you consider adoption: ninety-one percent of tech workers already use artificial intelligence tools in their daily work, compared to sixty-three percent of the general workforce. They are not speculating about a distant threat. They are living inside it. And their confidence in human irreplaceability has collapsed. Last year, thirty-six percent believed their labor could not be easily replaced. This year, that figure dropped to twenty-two percent. In a single year, the proportion of tech workers who think they are indispensable fell by more than a third.
When researchers asked about extreme scenarios—mass layoffs—the pattern shifted slightly. Twenty-three percent of all workers predicted such an outcome, while only twenty percent of tech professionals did. Perhaps those with the most to lose have learned to hedge their bets in conversation. Or perhaps they simply know better what their employers are capable of.
The material reality of tech workers' lives has not deteriorated as sharply as their fears might suggest. Sixty-five percent received a salary increase in the past two years, nearly double the rate for the general workforce. Thirty-one percent intend to ask for a raise—again, roughly double the seventeen percent figure for other workers. Among those planning to negotiate, thirty-four percent are aiming for increases above five thousand euros annually. The labor market still tilts in their favor.
But purchasing power tells a different story. Thirty-seven percent of tech workers say their ability to buy things has worsened over the past two years. That matches almost exactly the thirty-eight percent figure for all employed Spaniards. The advantage in salary has not translated into an advantage in living standards. When those who lost purchasing power cut spending, eighty-five percent of tech workers reduced expenses, slightly below the ninety-two percent rate for the general workforce. The cuts concentrate in the same places: leisure, vacations, personal and household purchases. Tech workers do save more—fourteen percent of their salary versus ten percent for others—but they are saving from a position of constraint, not comfort.
The sector perceives the labor market deteriorating around them. Forty percent find it difficult to locate positions with better work-life balance; twenty-eight percent struggle to find better-paying jobs. These numbers are worse than last year. Yet they remain better than the general workforce, where forty-five percent cite balance difficulties and forty-two percent cite salary barriers. Tech workers are losing ground faster than others, but from higher ground. The question now is whether that advantage will hold as the tools they use daily become more capable, and as the fear that currently grips half their profession begins to shape their choices.
Citações Notáveis
Tech workers report purchasing power declined equally to the general population despite earning significantly higher salaries— InfoJobs study via Servimedia
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why would the people earning the most and using AI the most be the ones most afraid of it?
Because they understand what it does. They're not imagining AI—they're using it every day. They see the capabilities firsthand. That changes the nature of the fear.
But their job security seems better than anyone else's. Sixty-five percent got raises.
Raises don't mean security. They mean the market still values you today. But when ninety-one percent of your profession is already using tools that can do parts of your job, and you watch that capability grow month to month, raises feel like they might be temporary.
The data shows their purchasing power dropped just like everyone else's, despite higher salaries. That's interesting.
It suggests the salary advantage is real but fragile. They earn more, but inflation or cost of living has eaten it away at the same rate as for lower-wage workers. They're not insulated. They just started higher.
What about that drop from thirty-six percent to twenty-two percent—the belief that humans can't be easily replaced?
That's the real story. In one year, the proportion of tech workers who think their labor is irreplaceable fell by more than a third. That's not a gradual shift. That's a recognition that something fundamental changed.
Do you think the fear will push them to leave the sector?
Some will. But most will probably stay and adapt—because the money is still there, and because leaving means starting over somewhere with less leverage. They're trapped between fear and advantage.