Intro: Why You Should Care About the ‘Middle’ Right Now
In today’s hiring chaos, companies are swinging between extremes: either hunting for “unicorn” senior specialists or posting entry-level jobs with unrealistic expectations. But in the middle, where real growth, retention, and team health happen, something’s breaking and isn’t quite right. The strangest part is, it doesn’t seem a lot of people are talking about it.
That middle-tier developer, network engineer, or systems analyst with 3–7 years of experience? They’re struggling to find work.
This isn’t just bad for candidates, it’s a warning sign for companies bleeding talent and overburdening juniors.
How Mid-Level Roles Quietly Disappeared
Here’s what’s happening:
- 📉 Fewer postings: There’s been a 28% drop in U.S. tech job listings asking for 3–7 years of experience.
- 📊 Pressure from both sides: Entry-levels are getting upskilled fast (thanks, bootcamps), and seniors are asked to take on strategy-level work. Mid-levels? Squeezed and stagnant.
- 🧩 Budget bloat: Companies are either overpaying seniors or under-supporting juniors, skipping the mid layer that actually keeps teams functional.
This graphic shows how companies are heavily investing in entry- and senior-level roles while neglecting mid-level talent.
Why This Hits Harder Than You Think
Ignoring the middle tier breaks more than just career paths, it also breaks team structure.
Risk breakdown:
- 🔥 Burnout: Seniors take on mentorship AND execution. Juniors are overwhelmed.
- 🚪 Turnover spikes: Mid-level talent leaves faster when they see no path forward.
- 🤝 Retention fails: Recent discussions in the engineering community highlight concerns about the lack of structured support and growth opportunities for mid-level engineers. This gap in professional development pathways may contribute to increased turnover and challenges in talent retention.
This doesn’t just stall careers. It stalls products, pipelines, and progress.
How to Start Fixing It
For Hiring Managers:
- Audit your roles: Are you skipping mid-level needs because you assume seniors can do more with less support?
- Redistribute wisely: Juniors shouldn’t be expected to ramp up on their own. Assign mentorship hours, but also balance them.
- Rebuild job ladders: Don’t just offer promotions. Offer skill tracks, milestone raises, and real feedback loops.
For Job Seekers:
- Label your impact: Focus on results and not just titles on your resume (e.g., “Owned 60% of deployment cycle in team of 5”).
- Interview with questions: Ask how the company handles peer mentorship, growth tracks, and mid-level progression.
- Consider contract-to-hire: Many companies are more flexible with hiring mid-level roles this way and it opens doors to full-time paths.
Closing: Mid-Level Isn’t Middle Ground, It’s the Core
Let’s stop skipping over the people who have a huge part in keeping things running.
Whether you’re building a team or building your career, the mid-tier matters more than most companies realize, until it’s too late.
At ESPO, we help companies rebuild their hiring strategies where they’ve quietly gone wrong.
Need help identifying gaps in your talent stack? Let’s talk.