This doesn't just paint the picture, it holds a mirror up to the reality of our industry. If you aren't in SV (or NYC maybe), don't have a degree from an expens

This doesn't just paint the picture, it holds a mirror up to the reality of our industry. If you aren't in SV (or NYC maybe), don't have a degree from an expensive college (or worse, no degree at all!), or haven't worked for FB/Google/Apple, you're basically dog shit to any interviewer. All the clamoring for developers is because so many companies delude themselves into thinking they should only hire the shiniest candidates, as you put it, even though there are thousands of other people who could do the job almost or just as well if they would look at people living in another city, without degrees, and who haven't worked at a huge company and/or unicorn startup. As a bonus, people like that (like me!) are generally cheaper since they don't have to pay the ridiculous cost of living in the Valley, or realize that making enough salary for a comfortable living without going into multiple hundreds of thousands is perfectly fine.