I did everything "right." I had a lot of side projects, I collaborated on big projects online with others, I knew a lot of languages, I got a 4 year CS degree and I had an internship. I applied to hundreds of places and heard back from maybe 3 places after months of trying. The best I could get before my current offer was one for 35k from a place that wasted two days of my time going half a state away to interview with them, and a return offer at the internship for $15/hr. I was "lucky" enough to eventually land this current job where I ended up being on more of a "support" team than being put on any real development, which is apparently all generally done offshore, so it's going to be more difficult down the road due to that, I'm sure. I don't recommend getting into tech to people anymore. The bubble is over.