So, I finished up with college in 2008 right before the worst part of the financial crisis hit. I also went to a no-name school in the middle of flyover countr

So, I finished up with college in 2008 right before the worst part of the financial crisis hit. I also went to a no-name school in the middle of flyover country, and I didn't graduate. At no point in my career did I ever feel like I was having difficulty with finding a job. I would argue that the biggest challenge graduates in 2023 face is a battle inside themselves between their expectations, their delusions of grandeur, and the reality of the world. I didn't work properly for a "tech company" for more than 2 years after I finished school, and I started in a lower level role than I was qualified for, but the entire time I was learning things, working with people I respected and admired, and was paid decently for my time and efforts. The domain knowledge I gained from outside of "tech" at various points in my career has been incredibly valuable during all the times I worked in tech, because most of the "tech" companies make their money selling products to non-tech companies. Knowing your customer and their domain is actually crucial. If you're willing to work as a software developer at a health insurance company maintaining eligibility processing and claims processing systems, or at a manufacturing company writing automation tooling to help process engineers convert prototypes into mass producible widgets, or working on plugins for the unwieldy "enterprise" software used in the back office at a global trucking and logistics company, you'll never want for work, and you'll learn a lot and earn a decent wage compared to the market you find yourself in. No, it's not $300k TC right out of school with free lunches and trendy swag packages, but it's also not purgatory and destitution. Realistically, I think social media has created a completely unhinged set of expectations amongst people, in general, and especially young people. Everyone has to pay their dues, and what you learn along the way and the relationships you build will set up the rest of your career.