Posted earlier with good discussions: <a href="http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1272458" rel="nofollow">http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1272458</a>
The job market is like the ocean itself and there are obviously different wave conditions. In a good one, the waves will lift all sorts of vessels, but how you want to surf it is entirely upto you. I daresay with the advent of the YC era, I wouldn't be surprised if more grads interviewed at startups first.
The market for experienced Java & .NET engineers in the Milwaukee area hasn't been this hot in many years. Finding top talent is proving to be a challenge and is affecting growth.
Two things:<p>1- as someone who is more or less in the job/contract market in SV, I can confirm that the past two months have seen a dramatic rise in hiring. The past two weeks have especially intense compared to the past months.<p>2- startups may be somewhat squeezed, but an improved job market is really better for everyone. The right people will still prefer to work at startups over large corporations. Desperation over money is never a good driver for the job market.