[shados]

> I detest this sense of entitlement that programmers have

I don't agree with all of your post (but do some of it). However at the pace companies are expanding their hiring net, the supply and demand ratios are going to flip sooner or later. The current seller's market isn't going to last and a lot of folks will have a serious reality check.

[somebodythere]

How do companies expanding their hiring net decrease demand?

[shados]

They don't? Demand is increasing.

However as the sources for software developer expand (and the barrier for entry goes down, along with more people going into the field), the availability is drastically going to outpace it.

We had a very short period of time where even entry level engineers with no CS degrees had companies begging them to join them, but that's quickly going away, and its slowly creeping up the ladder.

If you're a principal engineer or even "only" a senior one, you're likely still at a point where you have people trying to woo you every single day. That's not gonna last.