Similar, I graduated with a BS in CS in 2001. I was lucky to have finished my job search in the Fall of 2000. The market had still been hot in the fall, I received several (4-5?) offers for 60-75k (boston/nyc). Each seemed like they were on the "new, exciting" project at a company where their revenue came from elsewhere. I took a job with a company I'd interned at.
By the Spring things had definitely changed. First lots of hiring freezes and then offers to friends rescinded. (A few lucky ones got paid 50% to take a year off.) I think most of the offers I had were for projects that were likely killed since they didn't add anything to the top line. The did a round of layoffs where I was joining in the spring before I started. I remember anxiously waiting at my college apt to find out if I was unlucky. I wasn't affected, I believe primarily because I was "cheap" compared to the people making 2x or more than me they chose to let go.
I felt very fortunate to land on an interesting team doing real product development; others I know who graduated in 2002 had no option but the longer path through customer support / non-tech jobs for a little bit.
I finished school in end of 2000, when things were crashing. I only finished school that late because of thesis (didn't get through on first try). I had to compare my wage to lots of people who got hired 2-3 years earlier (which could have been me, of course, if I hadn't pursued an extra degree).
Not starting work in 1998, I've calculated, cost me me somewhere north of $250k in wages (over three years, this is Europe I'm talking about). It would have been exhausting but the company that hired me in 2000 would have hired me in 1998 and allowed me to work on my thesis on the side, and of course $250k would easily pay for a year's sabbatical afterward. Even better scenario would have been work until 2001, get fired with severance (usually not optional in Europe), then finish degree, miss the worst of the downturn.
Very frustrating to work among people who make double or triple you do just because of the time they were hired (this was a consultancy firm, more than relatively basic development skills were not required, or usually not even wanted). Very frustrating to come to the realization I finished my education at pretty much the worst time in 2 decades, and just how big the difference was with a more optimal choice of when to study.
Oh well, maybe the people in this thread are right, and I'll get the chance to get another (related) degree. Or maybe going for a full phd. I am planning to do that sometime in the future, definitely, I guess maybe it'll be next year.
By the Spring things had definitely changed. First lots of hiring freezes and then offers to friends rescinded. (A few lucky ones got paid 50% to take a year off.) I think most of the offers I had were for projects that were likely killed since they didn't add anything to the top line. The did a round of layoffs where I was joining in the spring before I started. I remember anxiously waiting at my college apt to find out if I was unlucky. I wasn't affected, I believe primarily because I was "cheap" compared to the people making 2x or more than me they chose to let go.
I felt very fortunate to land on an interesting team doing real product development; others I know who graduated in 2002 had no option but the longer path through customer support / non-tech jobs for a little bit.