I agree with the poster above this one - 2020 and now are basically one big event, but I still mark 2020 because it was the point when I finally decided enough

I agree with the poster above this one - 2020 and now are basically one big event, but I still mark 2020 because it was the point when I finally decided enough was enough with this hiring BS these companies put us through. You spend weeks in in the interview process, meeting everyone and their cousin, taking dumb little tests and such, all so that, right near the end, they can say the job is no longer available because they need to figure out how the pandemic will affect things. I mean, yeah, I get they need to look out for the business... but they wasted weeks that could have been better used doing something else. I actually think we're going to look back and see the massive hiring and good news that came in 2021 is the blip. A lot of these companies that soared during the pandemic - like Zoom and Netflix - are seeing revenues drop. Many companies figured the worst was over and went nuts hiring, getting funding, etc. Now that the fed is raising rates again, a lot less of that money will be flowing around, and companies that hired thinking they would get their next round will find themselves laying a bunch of folks off. It's already started. Every single day there's another version of an article in my tech feed saying something to the tune of, "Batten down the hatches for the next 18-24 months". Executives reading those stories are already making moves to cut costs and try to ride out the storm. Whether the storm comes or not is largely irrelevant as the effects will be the same - and all of that preparation for the storm in many ways ensures its arrival.