Harsh opinion: but if you just want to pay the bills this is not for you. Software engineering is a career, not a job.

Far too many people focus on passing an interview and then let legal protections keep their position, all while draining resources that could have been better allocated to someone who is actually passionate. They saw my generation do reasonably well and came for the paycheck. I got into this because there were very few people who could rise to the occasion of problem solving that the industry needed. I did not walk into the room with all of the skills or an idealized salary, I walked into the room with a mentality.

Perhaps the "chaos" being introduced is simply a long overdue market correction.

I'll let the downvotes tally how pervasive this is.