So how is the job market these days? I'm 2 years out of college at a job i don't dislike, very little micromanaging, and am respected. Got rated top 5% of company next year with a nice bump. Even there, i feel a little underpaid, and i'm working with a language that is quite old and very niche. I'm worried about getting pigeonholed if i stay here too long. Review time is coming up, and i'm left thinking about what to do if i'm disappointed this year.
I'm in a similar boat, and this is my understanding of the situation based on research. And by research I mean talking to people, reading a lot of industry discussion, etc. So take it with a grain of salt. This is just my limited perspective.
The market varies by location, but overall it's pretty good. In the most general sense, if you're a skilled programmer then you have a lot of opportunities to change jobs and increase your pay. Some places want experience with specific technologies, but many will hire anybody who can pick up new tech quickly.
My friend (ex-coworker) graduated 2 years ago from an unranked school. He's smart, but doesn't have any specialized skills. He can't do UI or database stuff very well, and he doesn't have a blog. He has some personal projects on github (nothing anybody has heard of). He just got picked up by one of the big tech companies for 6 figures, almost doubling his salary. In the past year he interviewed at almost all of the big tech companies. They all turned him down except the last one.
If you read hiring posts by companies on various industry sites like hacker news, almost everybody is hiring skilled programmers year-round. They're very eager to hire programmers because they can get value out of them at many times their salary, and nobody can find enough of them. It's an applicants' market. Lots of sites have shown up like developer auction to try and take advantage of the need for good developers and the inefficiency of the traditional hiring process.
The strategy as an applicant is: have a portfolio of projects that demonstrate your ability (github, personal website), and a blog doesn't hurt either. Apply at many places and go to lots of interviews. Hiring the right people is hard, and great candidates are often turned down. Cast a wide net and don't be discouraged.
The actual best method is to have an "in" to companies you're applying. Either via an internal recruiter who noticed you, or a friend/acquaintance who will recommend you from the inside. But these methods aren't always available to everybody. Sometimes recruiters will only look at the top 100 schools or whatever, so you may have to just send cold applications.
Also, have some people look over your resume. And keep your LinkedIn updated. Sorry if this turned into general applicant advice that you might have not needed.