Also, it depends on your area but IT, in general, is SWAMPED. It always was swamped but it didn’t matter much because jobs were always available. However, in Albany, I could not find a SOLID MID level .NET engineer at all. But, in NYC, they are everywhere. With the current economic climate, companys can be EXTREMELY picky on who they bring on board because 1) Money is tight 2) An influx of dev/engineers including NEW ones who were laid off 3) Consultants looking for work
It’s become much harder to land a full time job because a lot of companies don’t want the commitment of a full time employee so they can get contract/consultants instead.
