[freework]

> No real proof of any of these claims here.

The proof is my own personal experience. If programmers were truly scarce, then every time a programmer passes a programming puzzle interview, then they'd be offered a job. I can't tell you how many interviews I've aced over the years only to be ghosted afterwards. If ghosting existed (which is very much does, and is quite common), then that means the market is oversaturated.

[itronitron]

I think most people think oversaturated means that there are a lot of developers available that qualify for a given position. However from my experience companies are listing open positions as a means to fish for top candidates when the companies don't actually have funding slotted for those positions.

The experience for the candidate is that they make it through all the gates and then get ghosted while the hiring manager is stalled by their bosses to approve the hire. That has happened to me often enough in the past three years that I now just think of interviews as an opportunity to meet other nerds.

[toyg]

Oversaturation, as typically defined, would result in falling wages, either in absolute or real terms, and that doesn't seem to be the case yet. In fact, the growth in IT salaries is probably among the few that regularly outstrip inflation rates. You have no "oversaturation" until coder rates match more traditional (and really saturated) white-collar jobs like accountancy, where salaries are much lower.

That doesn't mean the job market is not getting more competitive - it might well be, but that does not mean it's oversaturated yet, not even saturated.

[Dannymetconan]

I get that but my experience has been the exact opposite for all but my first job.

I really don't think being able to pass these "programming puzzle" type interviews is a good measure of a good engineer. Just finishing them is often not what a company is looking for.

[falsedan]

It might mean that the company is selecting for skills other than raw problem-solving talent

[peteretep]

You are interviewing far less well than you think you are

[stefanfisk]

have you asked for feedback when this happens, and if so what responses have you gotten?

[freework]

They usually either ignore me after telling me they won't hire me, or they'll say something like "We've received many qualified applicants, and have unfortunately decided to go with other candidates"

[Dannymetconan]

I'm really sorry to hear that. I imagine you are looking for your first job out of college?

Even as a quality candidate there might be a lot of way that you are going wrong. I would advise you try and get your CV looked at. This can make a big difference. I'm sure there is lots of advice out there. What market are you looking in?