> That's why the 2000s were horrible for anyone with a CS/CE/CSE/EE degree, because both software AND hardware industries collapsed

Odd, anecdotally I remember people saying that, but had no issue getting a job in 2004 as a fresh CS grad.

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xp84 6 days ago | parent | next [-]

Also anecdotally: by 2006 I also don't think it was that hard, in SF. 2008 of course kicked off a new cycle of capital scarcity, but, what it seemed like to me was that two gold rushes kicked off in earnest around that time which in tech seemed to mitigate any major difficulties for software people: First the online/Facebook gaming goldrush (Zynga being the poster child, but there were dozens more publishers, advertising and monetization firms drinking from that trough) and of course the App Store goldrush.

	▲	no_wizard 6 days ago \| parent [-]
		In 2008 I remember being in tech was able to largely ignore the recession that everyone else was getting reamed by because mobile, Facebook games and generally social media, and general Web 2.0 was getting big investment across the board. The low hanging fruits still had not all been plucked. If I had been smarter I would have bought up property at what I now know were the lowest prices I’d ever see, but alas, I did not

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alistairSH 6 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Having started my career in 1999 (and if you could spell C++, you were pretty well guaranteed at job at a good salary), I remember two things...

- 2000-20001 - "small" recession, along with the dot-com bubble bursting. Lasted through 2003 or so, though the bulk of job loss (across industries) was 2001 into 2002.

- 2008-2010 - housing market collapse - world-wide impact. Most of us probably remember that period. It as brutal for everybody, not just STEM grads. Too big to fail and all that hocus-pocus.

I was RIF'ed in Dec 2001, took a few months to find a job I wanted, but wasn't all that bad given I was pretty darn junior at the time.

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tracker1 6 days ago | parent [-]

Yeah, I was/am in Phoenix where it seemed to trail about 8 months... it totally dropped here after 9/11 though. I remember effectively having the plague looking for work through 2002. Was working pretty regularly again by the end of 2003 though... those were a couple rough years though.

	▲	alistairSH 6 days ago \| parent [-]
		DC metro here. My initial job hunting in early 2002 was rough - lots of laid off contractors and dot-com folk. Job fairs were a total bust - too many people to get noticed, especially as a junior dev without any .gov contracting experience (no TS/poly etc). Got a few interviews and offers in the defense industry, but the lack of TS/poly was a killer - even companies that were willing to do the paperwork had deadlines and Uncle Sam couldn't process request fast enough so a few offers died on the vine. Eventually got a job through a friend (usually how it works, IME) and have been here ever since. Not .gov, but sort of government-adjacent (higher ed) so still a bit protected from the vagaries of the market and moneymen's whims.