I have to honestly say that I got into IT right as, and after, the big IT crash and right before the DotCom bubble burst. This was the point where people realized a lot of "experienced DBAs" were getting their qualifications by going to boot camps and reading brain dumps before passing their certification exams. Where I came from, we called them the PaperCerts. People who had the creds, but not the knowledge to back it up because they'd forgotten everything.

This was the beginning of the end of the high-paying, willing to pay you while you sit on the bench, contracts waiting in the pipeline era of DBA work. The backlash in the States was horrendous. And for good reason. Many good IT people ended up out of work for no other reason than companies just started cutting everyone. Most of the bad ones ended up without a job too and never got their foot back in the door.

Yet, I got in just at this point because I did work my tail off to learn SQL Server, not just study it. That being said, I have to agree that doctors, lawyers, etc. do work a lot harder in their professions (especially in the States) than the 1 & 1/2 years that it took me to get my MCDBA.

It is harder to get a DBA job now, for several reasons.

1) You have to prove you know your skills instead of just providing the certificate proof of your skills.

2) DBA skills have evolved into more of a blue collar worker skill set instead of the white collar skill set of the old days. Anyone can learn SQL Server and the proof of that is that it's being taught in college and cert books can be found in any bookstore.

3) Most employers these days aren't putting up with the arrogant "I'm a god and you have to treat me well" attitude of DBAs. They'd rather hire someone hungry to learn who can work with a team and has a decent amount of social skills then hire an expert. Do not underestimate the importance of the "soft skills" in today's IT world. It's becoming more and more relevant as time goes on.

So, yes, salaries are going down as more people enter the workforce. It happened with programming, now it's hitting the database sector. In the States, it has just happened with welders. I remember when the Tulsa school of Welding would promise newly graduated welders salaries of $70k to start. This year, they're advertising starting salaries of $40k. That's how many highly-skilled welders they've put out in the workforce.

The same thing happens (in cycles) to doctors and nurses. Lawyers bill by the hour (I have relatives who are lawyers), so good ones can make a mint while average or poor lawyers make less than some fast food employees.

It's all a matter of perspective.