Bye-Tech: Why High-Tech Workers Are Leaving the Industry for Social Impact
The "Bye-Tech" event brings together former high-tech employees who traded high salaries for careers in social work, education, and agriculture, seeking to find greater meaning in their professional lives.
A year and a half ago, Itamar Weizman realized during a trip to Thailand that he was ready to change his life. After five years as a partner at the Firstime Ventures investment fund, he left his senior position to manage Radical full-time, a non-profit organization he founded in 2021 to cultivate a new generation of civic leadership.
"I came to the conclusion that if I want to fulfill my vision, I cannot both make money in high-tech and change the world," Weizman says. "So I decided to devote myself entirely to political change. In retrospect, this was one of the worst financial — and best mental — decisions I have made in my life."
Thus was born "Bye-Tech," an evening where people who left high salaries, options, and bonuses to do something meaningful for the public share their stories. The first event will take place at the Radical house on Thursday, August 6, hosted by journalist Tzlil Avraham. The demand was so high that the organizers are already planning future sessions.
Market Trends
The waves of layoffs flooding Israeli high-tech in 2026, attributed to the adoption of AI tools and the strengthening of the shekel against the dollar, continue a long-term trend of downsizing. According to the Employment Service, after peaking at 441,000 workers in 2023, the number of employees dropped to 424,000 in 2024 and only partially recovered to 435,000 in 2025. BDO chief economist Chen Herzog estimates that over 10,000 high-tech workers have been laid off since the beginning of 2026. A CofaceBDi survey indicates that 38% of high-tech workers are exploring opportunities outside their organizations, while 20.5% are considering a career change.
Weizman (34) explains that his decision was not market-driven: "I didn't inherit a shekel. I grew up in a single-parent family and know what economic hardship is. But I think the key to a happy life is a workplace that gives you meaning and the right to serve the people around you." Participants include Or Hazakiyahu, founder of the animal rehabilitation farm "Teva HaKesher"; Oren Lotan, who moved into urban planning; and Moran Shabtai, who became a math teacher.
Lotan (41), currently a bicycle project manager for Jerusalem transportation, notes: "There is much more meaning in working in the public sector than in the private one. You feel that you really influence the reality you live in. It is a very challenging place, and I work much harder than before, but when something finally comes to fruition, it is a great satisfaction to see it happen in reality."
Moran Shabtai (45), a former industrial and management engineer, shares: "I reached a state where I didn't feel meaning in my work. Dealing only with financial and technological matters in front of a computer felt empty. Today, I teach math and, for the first time, I will be a homeroom teacher at an anthroposophical school."
