I think is really important to understand the reasons... too many ppl took IT college classes or simple bootcamps while economy is shrinking (too much offer), a lot of b2b visa workers are still in America (lower wedges), a strong senior with some chatgpt or copilot can do 3x juniors or medium work (less ppl needed) and ofc more and more managers pushing on IA to cut headcount to make $$$ bonuses....
I'm not sure the economy overall is shrinking, but there was massive over-hiring at the start of covid, and the inevitable right-sizing drops a lot of applicants onto the market at the same time.
Growing your own startup is hard. You need to find a small niche and fill it well. It takes lots of work, most of it not the fun stuff (programming) but the work stuff - sales and marketing.
The payoff (if successful) is getting off the job-hopping hamster wheel, and becomes less dependent on your employer liking you.
If you go this route I strongly recommend you stop coding and start selling. If you can't sell it then you're coding the wrong thing anyway.
