But what if I don't want to move, or don't want to spend anytime in unemployment? £1500 per month is pretty appealing when you have rent to pay. Also, while £18000 might be a joke in the respect that you're only slightly better off than the average admin job, despite the vastly different knowledge and problem solving requirements, what about the whole 'majority of developer applicants can't solve FizzBuzz in ten minutes' thing? Or the belief that programming ability is like compound interest - the more you learn, the faster you get better? Or the outsourcing to India (where I bet they get a whole lot less than 18k per head)? Those things would seem to make low starting salaries natural.

But I do like the idea of selling your skills on a freelance/contracting basis, and foregoing all the noise of the industry hiring practices. I'd definitely give that a shot before taking a 18k-24k job. Seriously doubt £25+k for a first, junior dev role is on the cards though.