10 years ago, it was actually easier to break into the IT market, but the starting salary was also lower. In many cases, junior developers were offered minimum wage or slightly above, they would start, gradually grow, and as their skills increased, so did their salary (most often through job hopping, less often through promotions).
Now, junior developers want 80k+ right from the start, because they listen to promises from online courses and various bloggers.
80k is actually a meager amount these days, what can you buy with it? Half or more goes to rent or mortgage, the rest goes to food, you can't even go out for entertainment.