Earlier quoted context omitted.
All of the BigTech companies are forcing RTO. Hybrid work is just as bad RTO. Either way I can’t make an above local market wage and live in a low cost of living area. Anytime any company reaches out to me and if I ask is it fully remote and they say “no” the conversation ends. I almost ended my initial conversation with AWS in 2020 when they reached out to me about an SDE position that would require an eventual relo…
Hybrid work is just as bad if you live well outside of a commuting distance. If you live within a commuting distance, it is somewhat acceptable if it's about two days a week with a decent salary. Good remote jobs are very difficult to get as they are very competitive, so hybrid jobs fill that void for those who can commute. 5x/wk RTO is nothing but a means of growth control and cheap layoffs.
I was lucky that even before COVID around 2017 my goal was to work in strategic cloud consulting focusing on app development (ie not staff aug) because that was the only way I could see making above local market wages without having to commute and even back then most of those jobs were remote with travel.
But then again, if you don’t have to worry about moving somewhere with a “good school system” because you have kids, why not move somewhere closer to the job?