I feel like the comments are fixated on a particular number. It's true, $30/hour is insultingly low for a software engineer. But, it's a data point. That's y

I feel like the comments are fixated on a particular number. It's true, $30/hour is insultingly low for a software engineer. But, it's a data point. That's your current value, because that's what someone is willing to pay. You can say "yes" and start getting $30 every hour, right now. Writing this HN post, $0/hour. Reading this HN post, $0/hour. Saying yes to that offer, $30/hour! Regardless of whether you accept, you can interview at other places, and use that guaranteed price as an anchoring point. You can probably get $40/hour from someone else, and now that guaranteed price has gone up. You don't really have to negotiate because there's a forgone conclusion. Company A that pays you $30/hour can be told "company B offered $40/hour". They can match or you can walk -- you're guaranteed that $40/hour no matter what. You're not really in power if you can't walk away from the negotiation with what you want. All these power plays to set the first number, or to talk about your value to the company, etc. don't have an inevitable conclusion. They could end with "that was a really moving speech and you're absolutely right that we should pay you $200/hour, welcome aboard", but most of the time they end with "great speech, anyway $30/hour is our final offer". If you don't have the option to say no and go make what you think you're worth, they win. Finally, if you're really 10x more valuable than any other employee at the company you're interviewing at, you can probably just put them out of business in 6 months. I never hear of this happening, so maybe we're all not quite as great as we think we are.