I have noticed a recent trend in requesting programmers who are rockstars. I get it, they're looking for someone who is really good at what they do. But why (pray) make the reference to a rockstar?

Do these companies really want these traits as a real rockstar?

• Party all night and wake up to take care of quick business in the morning?
• Substance abuse,
• Narcissism with celebrity,
• Compensation well exceeding their management,
• Excellent at putting on a short-lived show,
• Entertainment instead of value,
• 1 hit (project) wonders or single-genre performers,
• Et cetera

What is wrong with Senior or Principal Software Engineer who has an established and proven passion for the business? Rather do we mean quite the opposite, someone who:

• rolls up the sleeves and gets to work,
• takes appropriate direction and helps influence teams,
• programs in lessons' learned and proper practices,
• provides timely communication to the whole team,
• can code and understand multiple languages,
• understands the science and theory behind computation,

Is there a trend to diversify the software engineering ranks? How many software rockstars can you hire before your band starts breaking up?

Sure, there are lots of folks doing this stuff on their own, maybe even a rare few who do coding for show, but I wager the majority is for business. I don't see ads for rockstar accountants, or rockstar machinists, or rockstart CFOs. What makes the software programmer and their hiring departments lean towards this kind of job title?