I think it's most likely a bubble. Enjoy it while it lasts and build a sturdy parachute for when(and likely if) it doesn't. Maybe one day there will be too many of us and our price will be driven downwards.
I used to think this until I actually thought about how much value a developer can generate for a company.
If your 8 hours of bug fixing keeps a system generating 100k revenue an hour, suddenly 90k a year seems almost like a pittance.
Even for much less impressive amounts of revenue the math should checkout otherwise your job isn't really sustainable.
If your 5 man development team creates an application worth 100k in 6 months and you sell it to 10 clients, in half a year you've covered a year's worth of salary. Every additional sale related to further development for the next 6 months will be purely profit.
What worries me is jobs where you can't even come close to seeing how company revenue can (or will) exceed development costs, but I'd still keep in mind not guaranteed for a developer to know every factor involved.
I liken it to the auto-industry in America during the 1950s. Back then, single income families could take long summer vacations to cabins they might even own. The jobs came with good benefits and company culture was important. It feels very similar.
> Programmers are usually not encourage to wear button-down shirts
You're basing this view on a very small subset of companies (startups). the vast majority of places where people work still expect professional dress above the level of t shirt + cargo shorts and flip flops.
If your 8 hours of bug fixing keeps a system generating 100k revenue an hour, suddenly 90k a year seems almost like a pittance.
Even for much less impressive amounts of revenue the math should checkout otherwise your job isn't really sustainable.
If your 5 man development team creates an application worth 100k in 6 months and you sell it to 10 clients, in half a year you've covered a year's worth of salary. Every additional sale related to further development for the next 6 months will be purely profit.
What worries me is jobs where you can't even come close to seeing how company revenue can (or will) exceed development costs, but I'd still keep in mind not guaranteed for a developer to know every factor involved.