> Current cloud deployment software is now so powerful that a lone developer can write and deploy entire systems:
When was this ever different? Single developers always could barf out whole systems. And going by my experience, the relative quality of fullstack-devs today is not better than it was in the past, they just have now more gears moving.
> And the salaries for developers are so much higher now than before.
Are they? Salaries are always going up, so going just by the numbers of course is it higher. But did salary in IT really grew stronger than in other jobs over the last decades?
When was it different? I mean, there was a time when the technology didn’t even exist, if we are being pedantic. But before cloud services, you could not “barf out” a “whole system.” Colo places weren’t as open as they are now; if you knew the right people and had access to cash to buy a server up front, sure you could barf out what you could afford.
Before that, you’d have to have a number of landlines to provide a service from home that people had to dial into.
Of course, if you go back till a time when developer did not yet exist, then obviously it would not be possible. But at least since the industry started to exist as an industry (so 70s or 80s?), we always had single developers who could (and would) create whole systems for which others needed a whole team.
This is in itself nothing special. There also was always a price for this, which usually was quality and time. This didn't change till today, but as time moves on, things become simpler, so more people can do this now on a higher level in a shorter time.
> Colo places
What is that?
> if you knew the right people and had access to cash to buy a server up front
I'm not sure how old you are, but cheap webhosters exist since the 90s, and so do one man-web-companies. And before that you could misuse other means. Additionally, I'm not just talking about webdev, but development in general. Single developers creating whole mature applications and companies around them is nothing new.
When was this ever different? Single developers always could barf out whole systems. And going by my experience, the relative quality of fullstack-devs today is not better than it was in the past, they just have now more gears moving.
> And the salaries for developers are so much higher now than before.
Are they? Salaries are always going up, so going just by the numbers of course is it higher. But did salary in IT really grew stronger than in other jobs over the last decades?