An experienced software developer in the U.S. might make $150k/year and provide $500k/year value or more to their employer. The one-time $25k fee a recruiter ma

An experienced software developer in the U.S. might make $150k/year and provide $500k/year value or more to their employer. The one-time $25k fee a recruiter made from placing that developer is so minor compared to all that that it's arguably not worth worrying about. However there are developers who act as their own recruiters. They build big networks, get their name out there at conferences and meetups, and write books or create well-advertised projects. These are the people who talk about how as employees they get so much inbound interest that they haven't had to apply for a job for years, or how as contractors they've increased their rate to eye-wateringly high levels just to keep the amount of work manageable. So there's definitely value in doing that sort of thing, it's just that a lot of tech people aren't good at it, don't want to do it, or don't know how to do it.