I was working at a startup that had SF and Mountain View offices at the time of 9/11. SF offices for tech companies were somewhat unusual then, though a lot we

I was working at a startup that had SF and Mountain View offices at the time of 9/11. SF offices for tech companies were somewhat unusual then, though a lot were under construction. Most companies still had their main HQ somewhere on the peninsula. Although the tech decline had started before 9/11, it really seemed to pick up speed after that. I remember one of the company execs talking about the next round of funding and basically saying investors were "holed up in their bunkers" - that is, not funding anything. I did know (talented!) programmers that lost their jobs - one even collected unemployment for a time. In early 2002, the company I was at closed the SF office, and then I was also unemployed. After a few months, I found a replacement job at a non-startup in South San Francisco. The pay was OK but work was a bit dull. After a couple of years I moved out and haven't been been back except to visit. Spent a total of 6 years living in SF and working around the area, from 1998 to 2004. While there, I saved very little money and also never made anything from stock options. When I left I had about about 30K in my 401K account and 20K in savings. Hopefully startup compensation is better today. I know the rents are still insane. I'd say from a programmer perspective the 2000 bubble bursting was bad but not catastrophic. If we are now in a new bubble, I hope it won't be too bad if it bursts. But the industry employs way more people now and is much more fundamental to the overall economy. So there is cause for concern...if suddenly 10s of thousands of programmers are out looking for work, that ain't gonna be pretty.