Today, it may be hard for many people to get jobs in the software field. But this isn't new. Software employment has had boom and bust cycles for decades.
My mother, who was an administrative assistant at Digital Equipment Corporation back in the early '80's, took some programming classes, and tried to move into a programming role, but they wouldn't promote her. They said you needed a degree and needed experience with at least 3 languages. They were picky back then, because there were no shortages.
When I graduated with a CS degree in 1990, hiring was slow because of the recession. I got lucky, and a job based on my project at U of I'd Engineering Open House event. It was specifically on using computers to control lasers, and that's exactly what the company was looking for,
At other times, such as the late 1990's, and the 2010's (until a few years ago), it was boom! If you had a pulse and did a 3 month boot camp, they'd take you. I know many people in the software field who all had degrees in physics, astronomy, biology, English, civil and mechanical engineering, etc. They started in one of the boom times.
The reason software goes through these cycles is because, most of the time, IT is treated as an expense, like HR or accounting. They want to save money and do as little as possible. This is when it's tough to get hired.
Every once in a while, something new appears (like the internet, mobile, AI, etc). Then, leaders have FOMO and everyone jumps on the bandwagon. Suddenly, technology is strategic, and they overhire like crazy.
Then, it wears off and they lay people off during the hangover.
© 2026 Praveen Puri
