The Coronavirus Recession and What It Means for Developers
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Re: The Coronavirus Recession and What It Means for Developers
#2I’m curious, as someone who wasn’t in this field in 2008, what was that period like for devs?
Re: The Coronavirus Recession and What It Means for Developers
#3I didn't even think about the Airbnb IPO until I read this, pretty horrible timing for them.
Re: The Coronavirus Recession and What It Means for Developers
#4I’m curious, as someone who wasn’t in this field in 2008, what was that period like for devs?
My impression was that it was not bad, because it was such a dynamic time for the industry with the maturation of mobile, Web 2.0, online payments and social networks. I have some financial issues from real estate but did not have any problem supporting myself being a dev at home. At the beginning of 2008 I started a website in the online craft selling niche that was extremely successful by my standards.
Re: The Coronavirus Recession and What It Means for Developers
#5I didn't even think about the Airbnb IPO until I read this, pretty horrible timing for them.
I think that window had closed regardless. Maybe nail-gunned shut now, but I don’t think it was ever going to happen.
Re: The Coronavirus Recession and What It Means for Developers
#6“FAANG types aren't going to be as affected as early stage startup types or freelancer types.”
I wouldn’t be so sure. Corporations use down cycles to shed employees. And often they will hire contractors.
Re: The Coronavirus Recession and What It Means for Developers
#7I’m curious, as someone who wasn’t in this field in 2008, what was that period like for devs?
I started in 2008. People weren't changing jobs very often. You didn't see signing bonuses, or having multiple offers from top companies. It was like having a normal job. There really wasn't bootcamps or a crazy startup culture at that time. Most people I worked with got into it because they loved computers or programming their whole lives. But in general, compared to the horror stories I hear about the dot com crash, it was nothing.
Re: The Coronavirus Recession and What It Means for Developers
#8I’m curious, as someone who wasn’t in this field in 2008, what was that period like for devs?
I entered the job market from the military around that time. The only employers calling me back were government contractors (despite having really great scores on Brainbench and other technical evaluation platforms). Opportunity seemed to be a regional problem. Southern California (San Diego and
Orange Counties) were stagnant. Other areas (Bay, NYC, Boston, Seattle) seemed less effected.
Re: The Coronavirus Recession and What It Means for Developers
#9I'm currently about to change jobs. The company I'm leaving is a small AI company with much of its business coming in the form of speculative investments/proof-of-concept contracts from large corporations with research budgets.
I'm mainly leaving because the new opportunity is more exciting. But between the economic downturn and the "AI autumn", I'm definitely feeling like I made the right decision.
The new company is small but solid, unbeholden to investors, and it provides a very tangibly valuable service to an industry which itself provides a very tangibly valuable product that basically everyone needs. So it feels like a good place to be when the storm hits.
Re: The Coronavirus Recession and What It Means for Developers
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