The good news: the basic skills needed to make a living as a programmer have barely changed since the 1970s. The landscape of languages, tools, frameworks, etc. changes frequently but a professional programmer can adapt easily enough.
The bad news: Employers don’t face a shortage of entry-level or junior people. Employers don’t have to invest in extensive training, onboarding, mentoring because they have plenty of people trying to get jobs. The so-called skills shortage almost exclusively refers to experienced senior people, which remain in short supply (and always will —- that’s the nature of experience and advanced skills).
Rather than focus on “rehab” or keeping up with fads or optimizing for tech interviews, I suggest concentrating on getting a job in software development. You’ll find smaller and less sexy employers — those dependent on software/tech but not focused on tech — don’t have such grueling interviews and don’t hold out for the top 1% of developers. That way you have some exposure to software development, gain experience and domain expertise, work with other people who may help you land jobs in the future, and get paid for your work. Look beyond the FAANG companies and startups.
