I read in the trade magazines, and confirm with my local colleagues, that business of all types is way, way off this year. My IT Jobs mailing list can also confirm, however, that there are still lots of web development opportunities coming through. In fact this is the hot area of software development, but giving way fast to mobile app development.
See the ComputerWorld article, “Your next job: Mobile app developer?” at
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9217885/Your_next_job_Mobile_app_developer_?source=CTWNLE_nlt_thisweek_2011-06-27.
I used to develop for Windows CE/Trimble GPS devices, and boy was that a pain, for a whole bundle of reasons. If you want to develop native iOS app for iPhone/iPad, you’ll be learning ObjectiveC, and crying a lot. If you want to develop native Android apps, welcome to the massively wordy world of Java code. Have fun.
But now it doesn’t have to be like that: development platforms like PhoneGap and Titanium let you leverage the native browser object in iOS, Android and PalmOS. You have access to the machine’s resources, like its GPS, but you write in HTML5, CSS and Javascript. Sound like web development? It is.