Sorry you are going through this, both the situation and the responses you are getting from the 'tough crowd' folks.
I'm lucky enough to not be in a similar situation currently (I have a software development job that I enjoy) but I have a feeling that the majority of people who are dismissing your experience out of hand are probably also among the lucky ones who haven't yet been forced to confront a new reality formed over the past 1-2 years and are suffering from similar delusions as people who think their health insurance in the US is fine (because they haven't had to actually use it for something expensive and become a cost center for their insurer).
I've had a long and varied career in software development and the early 2000s dot-com crash (and the subsequent near-global-hiring-freeze that took place in the US tech sector) is the last time I've ever had even a temporary worry about being able to find a new job easily. While I haven't yet experienced it directly this time it feels like we're currently in a similar environment, except its a lot less clear that this one cycles out in the foreseeable future, if ever.
I'm lucky enough to not be in a similar situation currently (I have a software development job that I enjoy) but I have a feeling that the majority of people who are dismissing your experience out of hand are probably also among the lucky ones who haven't yet been forced to confront a new reality formed over the past 1-2 years and are suffering from similar delusions as people who think their health insurance in the US is fine (because they haven't had to actually use it for something expensive and become a cost center for their insurer).
I've had a long and varied career in software development and the early 2000s dot-com crash (and the subsequent near-global-hiring-freeze that took place in the US tech sector) is the last time I've ever had even a temporary worry about being able to find a new job easily. While I haven't yet experienced it directly this time it feels like we're currently in a similar environment, except its a lot less clear that this one cycles out in the foreseeable future, if ever.