I don't think any of those things are true in any meaningful sense. The market isn't as competitive, the pay is perhaps worse compared to FANG-tier programming

I don't think any of those things are true in any meaningful sense. The market isn't as competitive, the pay is perhaps worse compared to FANG-tier programming but good or better than most other professions, and the conditions are hardly that bad. They also aren't going to get replaced by AI tools, which is the more salient point.