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Comment by tptacek | Hacker News Reader

Why would this surprise you? In almost any conversation I've ever had with software developers about hiring, the person I'm talking to invariably says something that acknowledges tremendous mispricing of software developers based on how they're recruited and qualified.

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There is a frustration among developers, I guess. But are there really a significant number of overqualified developers stuck in underpaid jobs? If so, is it because they undervalue themselves, or because there are too few employers willing to pay a lot of money? It seems if there were many employers willing to pay a lot for great developers, at least some of them would be able to recognize a given candidate? (Meaning, suppose there was an undervalued developer and he/she would apply to 100 companies, would none of the 100 recognize the greatness of the developer?)

Yes: there are a huge number of developers stuck in crappy jobs.

So why don't they apply for other jobs?

Also, there seems to be a market rate for developers, which is usually not a bad salary. What is the reasoning for assuming most of them are underpaid? Because a lot are 10 times developers?

Is it about information asymmetry, or worse, complete unknowns because even the developers themselves don't know how good they are?

Would helping developers discover how good they are help their cause? Do sites like HackerRank help, or are the problem sets not relevant enough to the real world?

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