Big Tech Killed the Golden Age of Programming

Article’s Thesis and Overall Reception

• Many commenters find the article shallow, internally inconsistent, and lacking data; some later note the author admits it was AI-generated “slop.”
• Core criticism: it blames “corporate greed” and “talent monopolization” without evidence and conflates normal business cycles with a unique moral failing.

Economic Cycles vs. Big Tech Greed

• Several argue this is just another boom–bust cycle, analogous to dot‑com, 2008, and other past downturns; tech has always been cyclical.
• Others say macro factors (zero/low interest rates, cheap capital, tax incentives for R&D, offshoring, H‑1B labor) explain hiring booms and busts better than any desire to “control the talent pool.”
• Some note that layoffs are elective in today’s very profitable Big Tech firms—done to please investors, not because “times are tight.”

What Was the “Golden Age of Programming”?

• One camp equates it with high salaries for relatively cushy work and endless demand for developers.
• Another ties it to craft and accessibility: late 90s–early 2000s web, early Linux, open source blossoming, cheap/free compilers, bookstore Linux CDs, and the ability for a kid with a dial‑up connection to learn real programming.
• Others push the golden age further back (60s–70s research era) or say everyone’s “golden age” tracks their youth.

Hiring Booms, Layoffs, and Labor Supply

• Some ex‑Big‑Tech voices describe real project demand plus cultural “headcount games,” bloated management, and weak productivity, which made mass hiring and later layoffs almost inevitable.
• Others stress basic supply–demand: CS grads and coding bootcamps exploded, while companies offshored and automated, especially impacting entry‑level roles.
• Disagreement over whether Big Tech “hoarded” talent or simply hired aggressively during a period of cheap money.

Impact on Salaries, Careers, and Culture

• Many are grateful Big Tech pushed compensation up; others say this distorted expectations and pulled people away from socially necessary work.
• Several lament the shift from passion‑driven hacking to money‑driven “learn to code” and SaaS culture, plus performance‑review bureaucracy and “bullshit jobs.”
• Some see today as still a golden age for programming itself: unprecedented tools, open source, cheap powerful hardware, and now LLMs as code assistants—even if the golden age of easy money may be ending.