[dave333]

There are at least two factors in motion in this question: the exponential growth of abstraction layers and the career trajectory of the observer. Up to a point somewhere in midlife, the observer will have increasing knowledge of more and more of the layers, whereas the average SWE will have knowledge of only the top few. Hence the observation of a quality decline. Wait a few more years until the ever accelerating layers are coming tetris-like too fast for you to handle with your declining brain power and the observation will reverse.