I just had another recruiter call. Here's how it went:
Them: Hello! I found your resume on Dice and wanted to see if you're in the job market
Me: Yes, I would definitely be interested
Them: Great! This position is with (company) for the role of Sr. Systems Engineer, fully remote
Me: That sounds good, and what's the pay range for this position?
Them: That depends on the candidate's experience. How many years of experience do you have in engineering?
Me: About 15 years
Them: Great! And what is your current hourly rate?
Me: I can be flexible on that, which is why I asked for the pay range
Them: Like I said before, that depends on the candidate's experience. This is the pre-screening
Me: So they aren't willing to be upfront about their pay range for the position?
Them: …How many years experience do you have with Linux administration?
Me: Thank you for your call, but I am not interested in the position.
I'm not about to waste my time going through a screening and interviewing process if you aren't going to be upfront about the pay – especially in this market. I'm demanding pay transparency and high compensation for IT workers. Hopefully it makes a small difference eventually.