Tech employment now significantly worse than the 2008 or 2020 recessions

Post by bigthymer » Sat, Mar 07, 2026, 4:03 PM UTC

game_the0ry wrote: post #183

mlsu wrote: post #161

I just can't get over how short and intense the period between 2021 and 2023 was. There was SO much hype, such stupendous hiring, in such a compressed timeframe. Within the span of like 9 weeks it went from full steam ahead to completely seized. At the same time, the economy at large didn't seem to change very much. Why did this happen?

Near zero interest rates + COVID remote work + PPP loans = Booming economy What is happening now is the unwinding of the above. Now its: Higher rates + AI + too many SWEs (bootcamps and over-hiring) = Busting economy I think what we are in right now is more the norm and the post covid boom was an exception.

Post by Bombthecat » Sat, Mar 07, 2026, 4:08 PM UTC

doctorpangloss wrote: post #110

mjr00 wrote: post #15

In my experience, tech employment is incredibly bimodal right now. Top candidates are commanding higher salaries than ever, but an "average" developer is going to have an extremely hard time finding a position. Contrary to what many say, I don't think it's simple as seniors are getting hired and juniors aren't. Juniors are still getting hired because they're still way cheaper and they're just as capable as using AI a…

> Contrary to what many say, I don't think it's simple as seniors are getting hired and juniors aren't. Juniors are still getting hired because they're still way cheaper and they're just as capable as using AI as anyone. Tell me about all the junior developers you've hired (it's none)

Post by loeg » Sat, Mar 07, 2026, 4:15 PM UTC

mech422 wrote: post #554

loeg wrote: post #511

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People have been booggeyman'ing offshoring since before I entered the industry and it's never been all that significant of a factor. Time zones are a big piece but there are a lot of other factors that make offshoring less appealing than a naive analysis of Fully Loaded Cost per head.

If offshoring started before your time, that might be coloring your perception. I had already been working in tech for decades when the offshoring craze started. It was remarkably similar to the current 'ai craze'. Loads of jobs lost, predictions it was the end of (on-shore) programming, long job searches (and even longer ones for recent grads, etc. All in the name of 'cost reduction'. Thing is, in a couple of years…

Post by jazz9k » Sat, Mar 07, 2026, 4:43 PM UTC

Post by gzoo » Sat, Mar 07, 2026, 5:09 PM UTC

duskdozer wrote: post #640

gzoo wrote: post #585

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Universal Basic Income" is what they are telling us. What do you think

That that's naive. If you want to guess what may happen, look to the rhetoric and language about people now: the homeless, disabled, unemployed, elderly