I personally don't see a huge difference between the traditional skilled trades and being a software developer.

One of my brothers, who is a carpenter, cares as much about wood (species, age, drying method, etc) and his tools as I care about computers and my tools. We both spend way more time than "normal people" caring about the things that matter to our craft.

Disclaimer: I'm a big fan of the software craftsmanship thing. I may be an idiot.