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The $200K Developer Dream Is Over – Here's the Reality in 2026
- ptero 9mo agoTLDR: "previous years of boom provided 100k jobs straight out of college, 200k jobs and a guaranteed path to wealth soon after that. That time is over." Right. And this, IMO, is not a bad thing. We had a long, multi-year bubble and bubbles are not good for anyone. Deflating bubbles can be painful, but they are less painful than bursting ones. And the current software bubble is deflating, not bursting -- there are still plenty (say, compared to the last 50 years average) of jobs where a good engineer comfortable with programming will make a very good living. So do still learn CS or SE in college, but as a minor to another STEM field. My 2c.
- theanonymousone 9mo ago> So do still learn CS or SE in college, but as a minor to another STEM field. My 2c. What other STEM field, if I may ask?
- ptero 9mo agoIt really depends on the person. This may be an unpopular opinion today, but I strongly believe that someone doing what he loves will statistically be both happier and better off financially than someone in only for the money. So whatever makes their ears perk up: EE, chemistry, mechanical, math, physics, biology, etc. And, as a complement, pick up a "computer-ish" minor to learn how to make a machine do your bidding. My 2c.
- theanonymousone 9mo agoThanks. And why is CS not in STEM?
- ptero 9mo ago> And why is CS not in STEM? It sure is. If I said that it is not it was a typo. What I was saying is that today I see a non-CS STEM major plus a CS-like minor as a better ticket for an undergrad (who will enter the job market in the next 2-4 years) than a CS major. Which was not the case for the last almost 30 years, when a pure CS major gave many folks an excellent start. My 2c.
- billy99k 9mo agoA company I just left hired all of their development teams from Eastern Europe. Their rate was a fraction of teams in the US and communication was great. Perfecting remote work during covid showed companies how easy it is to hire cheaper developers in other countries.
- unsupp0rted 9mo agoI regularly interact with devs and project managers in Eastern Europe. Their quality is top-notch and their English is good enough you'll forget they're not natives. Most importantly, their mentality is American. Like... weirdly American. Yes means yes, no means no, "how was your weekend" and then down to business. It's a pleasure interacting with them.
- actionfromafar 9mo agoThere must be different strains of American out there.
- unsupp0rted 9mo agoThere’s no such thing as an American… until you work closely with other cultures and suddenly there’s definitely such a thing as an American
- ompogUe 9mo agoI do as well, and agree 100%. Funny story, the lead on our Eastern European team told me a while back that he had to tell his team: When the North Americans ask at the beginning of a meeting "How's it going?", they do NOT really want to know how you are doing. It's just social lubrication before getting to work. Before that, we were getting to learn that their mother in-laws in town or different medical issues.
- skajsjshs 9mo agoMy companies been pretty turbulent since COVID so I’ve had to do a lot of near shore and off shore hiring. “You get what you pay for” still mostly holds true. There’s a lot of arbitrage in junior devs, but good senior talent has mostly realized they can get a lot more. I can’t imagine ever working with India, etc again though. If you’re already eating the time zone cost Eastern Europe is much better.
- gentooflux 9mo agoI suppose I can't afford to become a "member" in order to read your article about it then.
- DivingForGold 9mo agoWaste of time. Article cuts off. Medium is useless.
- stogot 9mo agoNot a great article
- spwa4 9mo agoThis just regurgitates low-quality general arguments from the past few years, and demands payment to read it. I don't even think this is AI slop, but this is badly written slop. Very badly written slop.
- cumo 9mo agoI lost my job due to AI.