As a software engineer over the past 10 years, this environment has been horrible. What happened is that it has been very difficult to find good projects to work on which were not bullshit; I.e. doomed from the start.
Finding that good 1% of companies has been like finding a needle in a haystack, especially as an outsider where you don't even know what the needle looks like.
Also, tech recruitment has been broken since the beginning. It has been based almost entirely on resume buzzwords (in the pre-selection phase) and one's ability to solve puzzles quickly within a constrained time frame (for the selection phase). Neither of these things are relevant to the job of software engineering; what's relevant is solving problems in an optimal way. HR who worked for big tech could have put focus on engineers' track record on past projects instead of ignoring it completely. Also, in latter years, DEI quotas further distorted the already COMPLETELY BROKEN recruitment process. Like rubbing salt into a gaping, infected wound.
I'm looking forward to high interest environment. I hope there is a huge crash and that most tech companies go bankrupt so that the industry can finally make room for people who know what they're doing.
Just look at what's happening in society and tell me that tech has been successful. Only innovation we got are LLMs, but wait to see how they're going to be applied to industry... If we keep going down the current path, it's not going to be good.
The tech industry over the past 10 years has felt like a show, completely detached from fundamentals. I was hoping that I would be given the chance to compete on a level playing field. It didn't happen since I started my career.
Every playing field in the tech sector has been rigged and distorted by private equity, national governments, foreign governments, intelligence agencies, big corporations, startup incubators, the media/social media, law firms... Absolute psyop from every side. Every well-connected corrupt midwit and dimwit benefited; everyone except skilled creators.
The idea that a crash would benefit talented people more than the bulshitters is not really all that likely in my opinion... More likely that the chosen few get put on life support through government contracts or entrenched work, and innovation scales back in total.
I almost expect a higher degree of bullshit to be honest; the cost of a startup will be higher, so the "honest" capitalistic speculation will be reduced, but there will still be plenty of money for DEI and CCP projects.
I can see how that might be true in terms of jobs but I suspect a crash might still open up opportunities on the business side as a bootstrapped entrepreneur.
The problem I've been having is that it's been difficult to find anyone to try my SaaS product because it appeared as though everyone was hooked to easy money in their big corporate jobs and nobody wanted to lift a finger to try anything even slightly risky. I couldn't even find non-tech marketing people to join my startup. I couldn't find other startups willing to do any partnership.
After tech layoffs, I noticed an improvement already; now people are responding to my messages, I'm seeing more small startups in my area and they're open to discussions about partnerships. Very big shift already. I think if big tech collapsed, people would just snap out of their trance and be forced to find more creative ways to earn money which involve some risk.
The problem we have now is that big corporations have made it possible for many people to earn good money while taking on very little risk. Such environment makes everyone extremely risk averse. They don't even want to take the risk of rubbing their employer the wrong way by doing something on the side.
Im guessing my experience is very different; I work more in robotics than pure software, and this is an industry where many of the problems are investment intensive...
I wouldn't call it a crash in this field, but there is definitely a trend away from ambitious attempts.
Its not really a field where you can take your savings at make a go for a year or two, capital is required, and capital is more hesitant at the moment.
I am curious about your product, to me SaaS startups aiming to replace an existing always had the problem where the risk to your client was immense compared to the value you offer. For example even if your service is a hundredth the cost of the entrenched it might not be worth it, because its a saving on a small line item against what could be the entire turnover of a business.
Finding that good 1% of companies has been like finding a needle in a haystack, especially as an outsider where you don't even know what the needle looks like.
Also, tech recruitment has been broken since the beginning. It has been based almost entirely on resume buzzwords (in the pre-selection phase) and one's ability to solve puzzles quickly within a constrained time frame (for the selection phase). Neither of these things are relevant to the job of software engineering; what's relevant is solving problems in an optimal way. HR who worked for big tech could have put focus on engineers' track record on past projects instead of ignoring it completely. Also, in latter years, DEI quotas further distorted the already COMPLETELY BROKEN recruitment process. Like rubbing salt into a gaping, infected wound.
I'm looking forward to high interest environment. I hope there is a huge crash and that most tech companies go bankrupt so that the industry can finally make room for people who know what they're doing.
Just look at what's happening in society and tell me that tech has been successful. Only innovation we got are LLMs, but wait to see how they're going to be applied to industry... If we keep going down the current path, it's not going to be good.
The tech industry over the past 10 years has felt like a show, completely detached from fundamentals. I was hoping that I would be given the chance to compete on a level playing field. It didn't happen since I started my career.
Every playing field in the tech sector has been rigged and distorted by private equity, national governments, foreign governments, intelligence agencies, big corporations, startup incubators, the media/social media, law firms... Absolute psyop from every side. Every well-connected corrupt midwit and dimwit benefited; everyone except skilled creators.