The $200K Developer Dream Is Over – Here's the Reality in 2026
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Re: The $200K Developer Dream Is Over – Here's the Reality in 2026
#2TLDR: "previous years of boom provided 100k jobs straight out of college, 200k jobs and a guaranteed path to wealth soon after that. That time is over."
Right. And this, IMO, is not a bad thing. We had a long, multi-year bubble and bubbles are not good for anyone. Deflating bubbles can be painful, but they are less painful than bursting ones.
And the current software bubble is deflating, not bursting -- there are still plenty (say, compared to the last 50 years average) of jobs where a good engineer comfortable with programming will make a very good living. So do still learn CS or SE in college, but as a minor to another STEM field. My 2c.
Re: The $200K Developer Dream Is Over – Here's the Reality in 2026
#3A company I just left hired all of their development teams from Eastern Europe.
Their rate was a fraction of teams in the US and communication was great.
Perfecting remote work during covid showed companies how easy it is to hire cheaper developers in other countries.
Re: The $200K Developer Dream Is Over – Here's the Reality in 2026
#4A company I just left hired all of their development teams from Eastern Europe. Their rate was a fraction of teams in the US and communication was great. Perfecting remote work during covid showed companies how easy it is to hire cheaper developers in other countries.
I regularly interact with devs and project managers in Eastern Europe. Their quality is top-notch and their English is good enough you'll forget they're not natives. Most importantly, their mentality is American. Like... weirdly American.
Yes means yes, no means no, "how was your weekend" and then down to business. It's a pleasure interacting with them.
Re: The $200K Developer Dream Is Over – Here's the Reality in 2026
#5A company I just left hired all of their development teams from Eastern Europe. Their rate was a fraction of teams in the US and communication was great. Perfecting remote work during covid showed companies how easy it is to hire cheaper developers in other countries.
I regularly interact with devs and project managers in Eastern Europe. Their quality is top-notch and their English is good enough you'll forget they're not natives. Most importantly, their mentality is American. Like... weirdly American. Yes means yes, no means no, "how was your weekend" and then down to business. It's a pleasure interacting with them.
There must be different strains of American out there.
Re: The $200K Developer Dream Is Over – Here's the Reality in 2026
#6I suppose I can't afford to become a "member" in order to read your article about it then.
Re: The $200K Developer Dream Is Over – Here's the Reality in 2026
#7A company I just left hired all of their development teams from Eastern Europe. Their rate was a fraction of teams in the US and communication was great. Perfecting remote work during covid showed companies how easy it is to hire cheaper developers in other countries.
My companies been pretty turbulent since COVID so I’ve had to do a lot of near shore and off shore hiring. “You get what you pay for” still mostly holds true. There’s a lot of arbitrage in junior devs, but good senior talent has mostly realized they can get a lot more.
I can’t imagine ever working with India, etc again though. If you’re already eating the time zone cost Eastern Europe is much better.
Re: The $200K Developer Dream Is Over – Here's the Reality in 2026
#8Waste of time. Article cuts off. Medium is useless.
Re: The $200K Developer Dream Is Over – Here's the Reality in 2026
#9Not a great article
Re: The $200K Developer Dream Is Over – Here's the Reality in 2026
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
I regularly interact with devs and project managers in Eastern Europe. Their quality is top-notch and their English is good enough you'll forget they're not natives. Most importantly, their mentality is American. Like... weirdly American. Yes means yes, no means no, "how was your weekend" and then down to business. It's a pleasure interacting with them.
There must be different strains of American out there.
There’s no such thing as an American… until you work closely with other cultures and suddenly there’s definitely such a thing as an American