I'm pessimistic about the future of software development careers in the US.
Not only are you competing with lower cost people from around the world, you will increasingly begin competing versus vibe coding (at the entry level) and the never-sick-but often-wrong AI (replacing the entry and lower mid-level).
There's also, apparently, a glut in the market from all the people stockpiled during Covid and subsequently made redundant.
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In the flip side, if you have a really strong network of people wanting to hire you if not for the B.S. checkmark, it'll probably be a good move
Not only are you competing with lower cost people from around the world, you will increasingly begin competing versus vibe coding (at the entry level) and the never-sick-but often-wrong AI (replacing the entry and lower mid-level).
There's also, apparently, a glut in the market from all the people stockpiled during Covid and subsequently made redundant.
--
In the flip side, if you have a really strong network of people wanting to hire you if not for the B.S. checkmark, it'll probably be a good move