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Do you honestly think the demand for software engineers will go down in the next 10-20 years?

Do you honestly think the demand for "software engineers" with little to no practical experience and modest training at $90,000 to $115,000/year, seen almost exclusively in a few overheated markets, will be sustained?

Companies like Google and Facebook, large, profitable enterprises that can cherry-pick the best college graduates from the best schools and invest in long-term development, are one thing. But unprofitable, angel and venture-backed startups that are pressured to grow (and that includes headcount) are another thing.

A lot of the salary froth at the entry-level end of the market is being driven by the latter, not the former. This has nothing to do with the long-term demand for skilled, experienced software engineers.

While this particular solution may be a failure, it is a reflection of the demand, which I don't see changing direction anytime soon. This is an attempt to cache in on the fact that competent engineers cannot be found at this price, which only drives the point home. If these experiments fail, it will only drive he price higher.

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