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I thought that for a while, but it's never materialized. Years have passed through economic good and bad and nothing changes. I still get jobs handily. I noticed this when I was younger as well; in other industries. But when you look at the math, it's not hard to see why. If the unemployment rate is only 6%, that means you really do have to suck to be out-competed by the 6% that no one wants to hire. Think about it.

If the unemployment rate is only 6%, that means you really do have to suck to be out-competed by the 6% that no one wants to hire.

It's almost impossible to compare unemployment statistics now with those pre-Great Society when all the many welfare programs began being put into place. Unemployment during the Great Depression was only something like 20% but there weren't people laying around collecting SSI, General Assistance, Food Stamps and all the many other programs that didn't exist. Now unemployment figures only show those unemployed who actually are looking for jobs ----- they don't count the total unemployed.

Years have passed through economic good and bad and nothing changes. I still get jobs handily. I noticed this when I was younger as well; in other industries. But when you look at the math, it's not hard to see why. If the unemployment rate is only 6%, that means you really do have to suck to be out-competed by the 6% that no one wants to hire. Think about it.

Something I constantly preach to my nieces and nephews as a central creed:

Talent always wins. It may take years, but when you become good at something, particularly something that comes really easy to you, you will always have a job.

One VP once told me, in a flash of insight, "You have enough skills to keep you in the middle-income bracket forever".

OK, fine.

Because he lost his job, and was out of work for two years. Two years at Zero income pretty much levelled our decade-income average, didn't it?

If the unemployment rate is only 6%, that means you really do have to suck to be out-competed by the 6% that no one wants to hire. Think about it.

I tend to think the unemployment rate for engineers is much higher than 6%. Also, it could be higher in certain geographical areas. I know many people up and down the east coast who have not been able to get a job or even an interview in the last 2 years. A lot of companies do not even want to consider a non local candidate. Some of my friends are giving up on engineering and going back to school to change professions. It took me a year to get a job after being laid off. My current job is with a start up and so it may not even last. You may be in a good area but the trend is to move software development off-shore, so I only expect it will get worse. Some managers tell me that they recieve 500 resumes for every job ad they post. With that kind of competition it is not hard to imagine that getting a job could be like finding a needle in a haystack.

There really is no reason for you to add salt to a wound to those who are having difficulty finding a job just because you have managed to escape the trend. Given that you are a "C" programmer chances are that the older you get the harder and harder it will be for you to get a job.