[drewcoo]

> I entered tech in 2004, during the immediate aftermath of the dotcom crash.

I entered in 1999, when there were plenty of jobs mostly filled with people who liked paychecks a lot more than coding. It was hard to find jobs doing anything hard or nerdy in the sea of webmasters.

I remember working at startups in the mid-late oughts after the bubble burst and the industry was awash in get-rich-quick, gimmicky companies. Those founders had learned the lessons of the dotcom bubble: make your money and get out before it happens again! There was a VC slot-machine for quick, happy exits. And if you don't do well at the slot machine, well you've learned important leadership lessons, so start another startup.

If there was a golden age of nerds, it must have happened before I was in the industry. But, on examination, I'm not sure those actually existed either.

I think it's worth focusing on the work and atmosphere and how makers get stuff done, but I balk at about appeals to former glories. Make Software Great Again? Hmph.

[shrimp_emoji]

Even if it never existed, it should exist. The false description is prescription. M"${foo}"GA!