The $200K Developer Dream Is Over – Here's the Reality in 2026

A company I just left hired all of their development teams from Eastern Europe.

Their rate was a fraction of teams in the US and communication was great.

Perfecting remote work during covid showed companies how easy it is to hire cheaper developers in other countries.

TLDR: "previous years of boom provided 100k jobs straight out of college, 200k jobs and a guaranteed path to wealth soon after that. That time is over."

Right. And this, IMO, is not a bad thing. We had a long, multi-year bubble and bubbles are not good for anyone. Deflating bubbles can be painful, but they are less painful than bursting ones.

And the current software bubble is deflating, not bursting -- there are still plenty (say, compared to the last 50 years average) of jobs where a good engineer comfortable with programming will make a very good living. So do still learn CS or SE in college, but as a minor to another STEM field. My 2c.