I know this doesn't make things better, but it bears repeating: much as the media would like it to be, this is
not caused by AI. Two major things happened in 2022 that everyone knew would cause this if they stuck around:
* The Section 174 changes went into effect, requiring all software to be expensed as R&D, which means it can't be deducted from profits directly and instead has to be amortized over 5 years [0].
* Interest rates went back up starting in Feb 2022 and continuing through Aug 2023. This chart [1] is a near-perfect mirror of the job trends.
I know this doesn't help anyone who's struggling right now, but it does serve to emphasize that this didn't just happen, and it wasn't the result of technological advances making us obsolete. Federal policy was set up to encourage an enormous amount of investment into software development, and it's now... not. Turns out politics matters.
[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34627712
[1] https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=1DfOX
* The Section 174 changes went into effect, requiring all software to be expensed as R&D, which means it can't be deducted from profits directly and instead has to be amortized over 5 years [0].
* Interest rates went back up starting in Feb 2022 and continuing through Aug 2023. This chart [1] is a near-perfect mirror of the job trends.
I know this doesn't help anyone who's struggling right now, but it does serve to emphasize that this didn't just happen, and it wasn't the result of technological advances making us obsolete. Federal policy was set up to encourage an enormous amount of investment into software development, and it's now... not. Turns out politics matters.
[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34627712
[1] https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=1DfOX