Enough hiring managers and applicants have been screwed over by the other that it's become adversarial.
It is what it is.
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My two cents though to you giantg2, the mentality you have is not feasible in the private sector as neither employers nor employees have any loyalty anymore.
Either switch to a government programming job (plenty of those now and they are increasingly remote first - especially Federal) or a new industry.
Or start learning the game (how to market yourself, constantly upskilling with "hot" tech stacks, networking, etc).
Eh, I've been at this job for somethingblike 13 years. Might as well stick at it. There isn't anything feasible for me to switch to anyways. I've tried the marketing shit and it didn't work for me.
Enough hiring managers and applicants have been screwed over by the other that it's become adversarial.
It is what it is.
-------
My two cents though to you giantg2, the mentality you have is not feasible in the private sector as neither employers nor employees have any loyalty anymore.
Either switch to a government programming job (plenty of those now and they are increasingly remote first - especially Federal) or a new industry.
Or start learning the game (how to market yourself, constantly upskilling with "hot" tech stacks, networking, etc).