[kkowalczyk]

Your "anecdotal" experience is rubbish.

I'm getting unsolicited requests for interviews from software companies by the bucket.

There are 180 open positions at Google in Mountain View alone (https://www.google.com/about/jobs/search/#t=sq&q=j&j...).

Multiply that by all Google's locations, add job listings from hundreds of other tech companies in SV.

Every time I hear this topic discussed by people who actually know what they are talking about (i.e. those running companies that try to hire competent programmers or those that are involved in the process, like VCs), it's always the same: finding good programmers is brutal.

Now, I'm sure that what you said is true in Alaska and many other parts of US that are not one of the tech centers, but when it comes to SV/Seattle/NY etc., it's clear that there is more demand than supply for skilled developers.

[bicknergseng]

There are 180 open positions in Mountain View and 100,000 applications to Google every year. If you're telling me that out of 100,000 applications, there aren't 180 who could do a competent job, you have a problem totally unrelated to workforce supply.

[dimtim]

Really? Are there really 180 open positions at Google in the sense that they are desperate for hires? If they wanted to hire people by the droves they could simply make it a little easier to get a job there. It's misleading that they even list positions.

[svachalek]

Given the choice between hiring less skilled workers or workers somewhere else, which would you choose?

[xxpor]

Amazon has over 2800 open jobs in Seattle:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/jobs/ref=j_sq_btn?jobSearchKeywords...

[obviouslygreen]

All anecdotal evidence is rubbish. :)

[aswanson]

They're sitting on what, 60 billion in cash? You mean to tell me they can't answer the need with a salary commensurate with their demand for good programmers?