I have no problem "showing what I've got", so to speak. But I fear this practice is really just a tactic to strip software employees of leverage at the negotiat

I have no problem "showing what I've got", so to speak. But I fear this practice is really just a tactic to strip software employees of leverage at the negotiating table. After going through weeks or months of trial by fire, making some friends in the trenches, and stopping the machinery of their larger job search, who is still willing to walk away from a lowish offer and begin that whole process again? It's the rational thing because there is plenty of opportunity out there, but emotionally it is a tough pill to swallow. I'm in the middle of a three month contract to hire right now at a smallish startup. I go back and forth on whether I think it's a good idea (weeds out would be coworkers who don't perform) or bad for reasons laid out above. I was seeing a ton of interest when actively interviewing at companies and probably would not have agreed to this except that my current employer has long been on my dream job list. Emotionally it's tough to deal with being a temp, even as other (cheaper, non developer) employees are hired full time without a trial period. So far I'm sticking it out and doing well, but when I have doubts I feel like maybe starting down this path was a sucker's move.