I've been seeing things differently. Between myself and my friends/former coworkers, some of whom are contractors, some in agencies, some internal teams in non-web companies. Across the board, we've all been rather overwhelmed lately. It's a constant struggle to keep up, let alone get ahead of the backlog. Who isn't hiring, subcontracting, or both, just to keep from falling too far behind? The story the recruiters have been giving us as they try to lure us away is that it's a developer's market.
I would imagine that using custom development to compete with Geocities or MySpace style 'build your own page' services is probably not doing as well. But that market was already thin many years ago. Those services didn't kill web development as a profession then, and they're not killing it now.
The bit about people who've grown up with this stuff coming into power is certainly a wildcard, but I like to think it'll be a positive one, not a negative one that kills the industry.
Interesting. I've found 2013 much tougher than 2012 - or 2011. All the agencies round here are recruiting good developers, but the rates for freelancers have gone down.
I both subcontract and work direct for clients, and work has been distinctly quiet since February. Mind you, the last 2 years have been amazing, which was when all the local agencies were laying off staff (or folding). Not sure what I'm doing differently to make me go in the opposite direction!
I would imagine that using custom development to compete with Geocities or MySpace style 'build your own page' services is probably not doing as well. But that market was already thin many years ago. Those services didn't kill web development as a profession then, and they're not killing it now.
The bit about people who've grown up with this stuff coming into power is certainly a wildcard, but I like to think it'll be a positive one, not a negative one that kills the industry.