Tech Job Ads Up 52% Since First Half of 2022

I've done both. Heavy front-ends really don't add much to a bottom line. They create a better experience for the user, but you can create a very functional application without needing the whole component-and-compilation circus.

Sure, and that's an alternate explanation why it's not seeing the growth, where companies are seeking alternatives instead of fighting for talent.

> We are lucky to be in the software business these days

If only. It is surprisingly hard to find a back-end position these days - the interview process is so, umgm, low.

You may have an hour to solve a non-trivial - at least supposedly - algorithmic problem, write a working solution, have a conversation about it along the way - the design, justifications, other options - debug it, improve and then have a requirements change. Interviewer will complain about slowness, even though in real life nobody solves such problem with anything close to that speed, and if you choose a simpler solution, he will complain about it being not optimal.

All of that is for a position where they request to primarily have good generalist skills, ability to work on multiple levels with both people and systems. They test for top coder skills for a run-of-the-mill position where those skills won't be utilized anywhere close to the artificial interview requirements. As a result it's mostly a gamble, and those thinking deeper than the first thought lose more often than not.

And after some weeks of unfortunate job search companies start wondering why you're not working for so long. And if you looking for a job while working, it's definitely like another job - often months-long process of finding something better than what you have. Agree on something too early - and you'll end up in an anemic company with arbitrary policies, and you'll be forced to look for a next job sooner than you were expecting.

If you're a good engineer with long experience, interview process is stacked against you. Prepare to spend years before finding a good place, where you can actually do engineering and not practicing coding, answering interview puzzles, or navigating office politics in places like CI/CD configuration.

This is probably a situation of a catch of middle-level experience. You're not good enough to have a name and stellar references - like, you didn't write a book - and you're not a junior from a college to put you to some tasks justified by your low pay. It's a pretty confusing, when you know your skills can be applied for many uses, yet have to play dice with strange interviews over and over. If you're in this situation, you don't feel like you're particularly lucky.

humanity's*?