AI Disrupts Tech: Professionals Sacrifice Their Leisure Time

Tech Workers and Learning AI

In the tech world, Manoj Aggarwal, Maahir Sharma, and Udit Mehrotra embody a growing trend: professionals investing their free time to train in artificial intelligence (AI) tools. These tech workers do not limit themselves to office hours to explore AI; they engage in self-directed learning outside of work. As companies reduce their workforce while heavily investing in AI, employees feel increased pressure to stay updated with the latest technological advancements.

Maahir Sharma, for instance, spends his evenings in Dublin observing an AI agent he designed to negotiate hotel rates in the United States. This personal initiative is not part of his professional duties, but it is essential for him to keep pace with the rapid evolution of the industry. Sharma, a software engineer at a large tech company, finds that AI has significantly boosted his productivity, allowing him to accomplish in a few days what used to take months. However, to remain competitive, he dedicates about 20 hours a week to experimenting with AI tools like Cursor, a coding assistant he funds himself.

"Experimenting with AI is crucial," says Sharma, 24. "Without hands-on experience, it becomes difficult to survive in this industry." This statement reflects an unexpected compromise: AI allows for time savings at work but requires a considerable personal investment outside of office hours to master new tools and skills. A survey by Ernst & Young, conducted among over 1,000 office workers in the United States, reveals that 85% of them are learning to use AI outside of their jobs.

For many, interest in technology fuels this experimentation after work, as much as the desire to remain competitive. Companies like Meta and Microsoft offer highly attractive compensation packages for AI talent, even as they have laid off thousands of workers in recent years. The recruitment of AI engineers on LinkedIn has exploded since 2022, while traditional engineering positions stagnate or decline.

New AI-Related Requirements

In 2025, Tanvi Pisal, then a product designer at a health startup in San Jose, begins to worry about the impact of AI on her job. During an executive summit, the company highlights the rapid advancements in AI, raising concerns about the automation of certain UX and product design tasks. Pisal then decides to enhance her AI skills and explore other opportunities. However, last October, she was laid off, with the company justifying this decision by citing the rapid adoption of AI.

Today, Pisal works as a UX design contractor for a large tech company and dedicates 10 to 15 hours a week to learning AI. She participates in workshops and experiments with tools, spending hundreds of dollars on subscriptions to services like ChatGPT and Claude. "If I don't spend a few hours on the weekend getting updated, I start to fall behind," she confides.

While some workers point to a lack of AI training, others believe that time is the main obstacle. Despite the intensive use of AI at work, daily responsibilities leave little time to explore the multitude of available AI tools and models. The challenge is to keep up with the necessary tools today while anticipating those that will be crucial tomorrow.

However, not all tech workers feel this pressure. Manoj Aggarwal, a senior engineer at a large software company, spends a few hours a week experimenting with AI tools, spending about $60 a month on subscriptions. His employer provides access to many recent tools, allowing him to develop his skills on the job. He takes advantage of his evenings, after his daughter is asleep, to read and experiment.

Udit Mehrotra, a product manager at Amazon, dedicates between five and seven hours a week to experimenting with AI. Last December, he developed ten applications in a month, working evenings and weekends with Claude Code as his main assistant. Recently, he has adopted a more sustainable approach to learning. "I see this less as a sprint and more as a marathon," explains Mehrotra, who lives in Seattle.

An Amazon spokesperson stated that the company offers training and learning resources on AI, including an internal hub to help employees identify relevant tools for their work. Amazon encourages its employees to experiment with AI as part of their daily tasks.

For some, the fast-paced nature of the industry imposes intensive learning. Abhinav Bohra, a senior applied scientist at Amazon in Seattle, dedicates between eight and twelve hours a week to staying informed about advancements in AI. He has spent about $3,000 over the past year on AI tools, conferences, and professional memberships.

"Continuous learning has become an integral part of the job, even if it happens outside of office hours," says Bohra, 32. His learning primarily takes place in the evenings and on weekends, as his days are filled with meetings and deliverables. This situation creates a "learning tax" that blurs the line between professional development and personal time. "The concern isn't that an AI tool will replace me overnight," he says. "The biggest fear is becoming technically obsolete in a field where standards are constantly evolving."