Came out of college in 2000. I was told it was a gold rush from many grads I knew who were hitting the market in 98'. Startups doing startup things, VC money flowing for IDEAS, didn't even need a business plan of any kind, just have a solid idea and watch the millions get tossed your way.
Then the bottom fell out less than a year after I got out. Everything evaporated. All the cool kids were having "hanging parties" where entire companies were getting laid off in a single day. As fast as the VC money showed up, it turned into sand and disappeared.
I had the same reaction - WTF do I do now? It was so devastating to everyone around me.
Here's what happened:
- lot of friends went back to college to get advanced degrees
- some went back to college to do something totally different
- some got together and started new companies, in the ashes of the recession no less
- some just collected unemployment while waiting the recession out and waiting for companies to start hiring again
- some found gigs at big corporations and started at the ground floor. They wanted stability in the desert of constantly shifting sands. Less pay, but stable.
Here's the point. You have to seize your opportunities when they show up. You should see this, and any "negative" situation as a chance to see what's out there, make a plan and go for it. Things will eventually come back around, but I wouldn't sit around waiting for something else. Start your own company, find out what you really want to be doing and do THAT.
I found out in 2000, that when everybody was standing around holding pitty parties for themselves, there was a huge group of people that were already dusting themselves off and planning the next charge into the next big thing.
Here's an ENTIRE LIST of companies that were founded in 2000:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_companies_es...
The best advice I can give you is to do some digging. Got to networking events, see what everybody is doing. Make connections at companies, talk to people, see who's hiring, let people know you're out there looking for something that's a good fit. Right now? There's roles out there, but you're going to have to do some digging and leg work. The market conditions warrant you doing some legwork, instead of waiting for those companies to come knocking.
Chances are once you get out there and make some connections, you'll find people will start contacting you about roles which won't be on any job board. You'll hear from people about XYZ startup, looking for some solid talent. Or ABC Corp doing some contracting hire through DEF agency.