Things got really bad in IT in 2001. The low interest rate/high liquidity monetary environment and the real estate boom are the only things prevented a meltdown in the number of IT jobs available. Oh, and the boom in military IT jobs has benifited a lot of folks too.
Overall, the IT field actually STILL hasn’t recovered to where it was in 2000. A lot of people left the field and that helped reduce competition for jobs but the streets are definitely not paved in gold and the risks are high. Entry level jobs are also hard to come by. Most jobs require experience and experience in the specific technologies that that company is using.
If you pick a technology that’s in demand (.NET, J2EE, for example) and you’re really good at it, you can make some good money but you always have to save some of it for when the next downturn comes and you get a pink slip.
So, it’s still a good field but not what it was in the late 90’s through 2000 and the risks are high.
