Software engineers who lived through the dotcom and 2008 crisis: what was it like?

Endava
WYIw56

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EY, Mercado Libre
WYIw56
18h 16 Comments

It seems we are headed towards a similar recession. Especially for tech companies that enjoyed the most out of that free money being pumped into the market.

So I wanted to get a feeling of what it was like for engineers during that time. How many got fired? How many saw their TC tank? Did you have to move in back with your parents? How difficult was getting a job in the main tech hubs at the time?

#engineering #swe #crisis #hiringfreeze #earnings

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TOP 16 Comments
  • Visa
    cmVs62

    Go to company page Visa

    cmVs62
    Dotcom: I was a SWE working for a company for a few years for a product that wasn’t impacted by the bust. I had plenty of friends who jumped on better gigs (2x pay than me) that lost their jobs after the bust. Job mobility sucked at that time, but still did ok
    2008: just joined a company as an architect for a product that was going to launch around that time. I hated it initially, then 2008 happens and (again) gut stuck. Turned out ok as stuck around for more than 10 years with decent internal mobility.
    Today: ok TC (pays the bills), still looking in the market but being picky. I feel I may get stuck again, but not bothered by it right now.
    Note: I might not crawl the ranks like others, but always a top performer in what I do. Usually not the first to go, so usually around cleaning up the mess.
    17h 1
    • New
      yYRW07

      New

      yYRW07
      Janitor SWE, I feel that
      17h
  • Apple
    FreeGuy321

    Go to company page Apple

    FreeGuy321
    I’m sleeping easy at night and so should you.
    17h 2
    • Amazon
      bgdfrt

      Go to company page Amazon

      bgdfrt
      Why?
      17h
    • Apple
      FreeGuy321

      Go to company page Apple

      FreeGuy321
      The dot com bust was unique and will never happen again. It was the first time the world grappled with tech being so critical to every aspect of life, and now it’s just a foregone conclusion.

      Same people who thought Pets.com was a laughable idea in 2000 and slashed its valuation to less than zero breathlessly invested in Chewy’s IPO in 2019.

      Things are just fundamentally different now.
      17h
  • Avanade
    Calmar

    Go to company page Avanade

    Calmar
    Dot com: bad
    2008: nothing special
    18h 2
  • Box
    engineer73

    Go to company page Box

    engineer73
    In 2001 and 2008 I kept my job and pay.
    16h 0
  • 2000 - massive pump and dump - all tech companies were not that great back then
    2008 - normal, many strong tech companies were founded after this time.
    2022 - small pullback then rally again in my opinion. Everything will be integrated with Tech. Recession is a temporary thing. The future for Tech is still super bright 🀞
    15h 0