The market was definitely down after the dot com bust.
If interest rates rise substantially then I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of the VC money disappearing followed by a drop in demand.
Younger less-experienced programmers I worked with who got laid off in 2000 when their startup tanked struggled for a long time to get back to their pre-bust salaries. They were probably overpaid in the first place, hired in as fresh talent in an overheated VC-driven job market that was not sustainable. When that happens it’s disillusioning and depressing. I see that happening again, kids fresh out of college hired at Facebook/Meta at crazy salaries that no other employer will match if/when Meta tanks.
It’s possible some segment of programmers will obsolete themselves by calling actual business requirements BS, or insisting that they will only work in Clojure on new development with a custom standing desk from home and never have to attend a meeting or engage with the rest of the company. But the work is there, more of it every day, and it’s only boring BS if you perceive it that way.
And more importantly, when required code that ain't yours, plenty of people that don't do and don't like it unfortunately.
But it's useful to know which mistakes were made so you don't need to repeat them.