[marcus]

Programmers aren't commodities as they aren't interchangeable, there are vast differences in outcome between different programmers.

To a good programmer most jobs offerings are commodities, they are interchangeable and their offerings/rewards/challenges are very similar.

Thus the developer you are interviewing is also interviewing you.

[greenyoda]

"To a good programmer most jobs offerings are commodities, they are interchangeable and their offerings/rewards/challenges are very similar."

Consider the following two jobs:

- Job #1 expects me to work 80 hours a week in an open-plan office, building yet another web site for yet another startup, and pays a below-average salary.

- Job #2 expects me to work 40 hours a week in a private office, writing software that solves interesting problems, and pays twice as much.

I don't think that these jobs are at all interchangeable. If I currently have Job #2, it would be almost impossible for someone offering Job #1 to convince me to go work for them.

[CyberFonic]

We all would prefer job #2. But it seems that there are lot more of job #1s out there. That's where the commoditisation happens.

[meira]

This is a very stupid question, actually. But is fun to wonder about it.

Programmers, as part of the working class, are an alienated workforce, something similar to "commodity". And so are all other classes.