I constantly read slashdot/craigslist forums/digg.com and the people on there tend to ALWAYS make the cs/it field out to be as if it is extremely difficult to get a job in the field. Im quite confused on what to believe at this point. Heres why

1) These salary surveys predict that IT/CS related fields are, "booming" with growth rates for software enginners at 46% over 10 years...

2) The average salary of a software engineer in 80k/yr...

3) The computer science degree is in the top ten most lucrative degrees...

4) We are coming off of a dot com boom. (meaning alot of people are leaving the field?)

5) The number of computer science graduates is decreasing (possibly from the surge of people going during the dot com boom?)

6) People make it out as if tons of jobs are being shipped off to India.

7) Reports say that only, "5%" of IT jobs are going overseas

8) The number of lay offs in the IT field is decreasing. Something along the lines (sorry I read this like 5 months ago on slashdot) that the number of lay offs was at like 80k/yr and now it is 40k/yr.

9) Most employers want 2-3 years experience MINMUM when hiring IT/CS employees (even "entry-level" positions!)

10) Employers say that they are in need of, "qualified" individuals.

I really don't know how to look at this situation. There is good evidence from both sides of the situation, but looking at the overall picture is hard to make out. Is the IT/CS market in scambles and flooded? It is lacking qualified indivduals? Is the IT/CS market dead and just going to be eventually offshored? Will the CS/IT market rebound? Is there a future lack of CS/IT people brewing in the near future (low # of ppl pursing CS in college)?

I would really like to hear from other people who are in the field or planning on going into the field.