And my anecdotal experience says there is not a ton of demand for skilled programmers. Guess we're back where we started now.

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.

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.

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.

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

Amazon has over 2800 open jobs in Seattle:

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

All anecdotal evidence is rubbish. :)

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?

Are you just playing devils advocate or do you actually believe this? As a recruiter who gets recruiting emails to come recruit engineers at other companies quite often, I have a hard time believing this.

Not the OP, but demand for software engineers in my third-world home is quite abysmal.

i'm interested to hear you experiences. Most companies I know (circleci included) are dying for skilled devs, though there's no shortage of not-great devs.

The demand for skilled programmers is unevenly distributed. There's huge demand in the Bay Area and then a much smaller smattering of demand elsewhere. If you are a skilled dev who doesn't live in the Bay Area, it can very much feel like you aren't in demand. I don't know if that is what he meant, or if he was just being contrarian.

Exactly. It's been my experience that programming job offers in certain areas are plentiful, but the vast majority require relocation if you aren't local.

A very small percentage might be open to remote workers, but unless you live in or around these "hot spots" you're going to have a more difficult time finding work, not to mention a comparatively lower compensation.

If you're a skilled dev not in the Bay Area, but can work well remotely, there are plenty of companies hiring. For example: https://circleci.com.

If you are hiring, your website does not make that particularly obvious.

(Interested applicants will read your blog to learn about you, but surely more prominent placement would generate more flow. Especially since your potential customers are your most likely employees.)

Touche. Our jobs page needs another draft (though check it out and give me feedback: https://circleci.com/jobs).

Similar experience in UK (Edinburgh, at least). Startup companies are dying to hire great devs, but the vast amount of people applying for tech jobs lack the necessary skills.