Well, as someone who (re)entered the industry in 2003 after the fallout of the dotcom crash, one thing that helped me get a job was the fact that tons of people

Well, as someone who (re)entered the industry in 2003 after the fallout of the dotcom crash, one thing that helped me get a job was the fact that tons of people just straight-up abandoned the industry during that period and the pipeline of new applicants dried up. So all those people who got a CS degree or went to a bootcamp because coding looked like an easy ticket to a high paying job? Poof - gone. Not to mention a small minority of software developers just permanently left the profession. And what happened? A few years later companies were desperate for coding talent again. The other thing is that changed was that there was way less cash being pumped into startups trying to solve every minute problem under the sun - so you could actually bootstrap product in spaces without having to compete with 2-3 Tier-1 VC-backed startups flush with cash. Oh, and because less stuff is getting built and productized, there might be more demand for contract work. That's how I built out a resume. Did a handful of projects over the course of 18 months for a few local small businesses. You're young. You just graduated. I assume you do not have a mortgage or family to support at this time. Maybe some student loans and a car payment? Big deal. If you have the stomach for it, stick it out. It'll be a rough few years but you'll have enough experience under your belt to be on the ground-floor of the next major wave.