The boom of the '90s made those working in technology feel like they were 18 again and behind the wheel of a muscle car: invincible. But the days when a college grad with a computer science degree could start work with $75,000 a year have disappeared. Tech personnel have even had to suffer through an indignity they never imagined-layoffs.

Techies.com, an e-recruiting Web site recently surveyed 700 out-of-work technology people and found some sobering news-the demand just isn't there today. Of the 700 people interviewed for the July study, 76 percent had been out of work for at least six months. “Most of them were with companies that either ran out of money or had to make major cutbacks,” said Cynthia Morgan, vice president and executive producer of the site.

According to Morgan, more than one-third of those surveyed had no inkling a layoff was imminent. Fourteen percent expected layoffs, but felt it would happen to other people in the department. “It's human nature to think that your contribution to a company is more important than that of others, but some of it is self-delusional,” she said.

For most people, she said, it wasn't so much that they lost their job, “it was the total lack of respect and dignity.” This mainly happened with new companies that were high on tech, but low on business savvy. “In one business, they were herded into a room and told they were gone. Layoffs can be an uncomfortable thing for businesses. They put things off and at the end people feel bad.”

She said now is not the time for people to be looking for technology work if they aren't armed with a degree and some practical experience. “Companies used to grab anybody who claimed to be a techie, but now that the demand is slowing there is a wider pool of people. A lot of companies want people with three to five years experience,” she said.

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