For perspective, thirty years ago programming was a career for motivated dorks and weirdos and didn't interest normal people, computers were so underpowered tha

For perspective, thirty years ago programming was a career for motivated dorks and weirdos and didn't interest normal people, computers were so underpowered that simply getting it to do something implied much more competence than it does today, and software industry salaries weren't insanely overinflated so there were fewer unqualified applicants. The hiring situation thirty years ago doesn't seem that relevant to today.