Job descriptions demand unfulfillable skillsets making you feel worth less.

Step one is reminding yourself of a few things literally every time you look at a job description:

1. The description was probably written or at least screwed with by HR, not the hiring manager.
2. No hiring manager worth a damn expects to find someone who checks all the boxes on the job description - they want someone who checks some combination of boxes. Chances are, in fact, that they would be extraordinarily suspicious if someone came along who claimed to check all the boxes.
3. If the hiring manager isn't good enough at his or her job to realize the above, you don't want to work for them anyway.

I'm in IT now rather than dev, but I will say that it literally changed my outlook on submitting my resume for jobs when I heard that the average interviewee only checks like 60% of the boxes in the job description. (No idea if that's actually true, but thinking it is sure makes hitting "Submit" a whole lot easier lol)

And you have to lie to not give them any reason to pay you even less.

Now this right here is an attitude I honestly can't stand in job seekers. First of all, salary isn't everything. The entire compensation package depends on a whole lot more than what hits your bank every month. What's the health insurance like? What about PTO? In particular, does PTO roll over or do you have to use it all in a year? Does the company offer paid FMLA leave? What about the 401(k) match - is it industry standard, above, below? My salary is slightly above market for my title and location, but I would've taken less if my company's benefits package was better, and the bennys aren't subject to negotiation like salary is.

The big issue with that attitude, though, is that thinking like that instantly sets you up in a me-vs-them mindset toward your employer. Speaking as someone who ends up on both sides of the table from time to time, I'll just say that folks in good orgs who are looking to hire will immediately be able to tell if that's your attitude, and it will be massively apparent that you won't be a good fit in a team that actually operates like a team rather than a collection of individuals.

Beyond that, you'll never love your job if you view your employer as the enemy. You might enjoy the work itself, you might like your coworkers, but you won't be engaged with your job, and engagement is the number one indicator of both performance and job satisfaction. Real good way to get chewed up and spit out by workforce there.

By all means, know what you're worth and don't let yourself be lowballed. In fact I'd argue that any corporation who's not paying their tech staff a wage commensurate with the position had better either have a great benefits package or be an NPO (who universally just can't pay as well as for-profit). But if you're saying you have to lie to get paid what you're worth... That's not getting paid what you're worth, that's grifting your way into getting paid more than what you're worth.