[bluGill]

That is changing. Companies are starting to realize that the best technical people are harder to fire than good enough managers, and for the lower levels of management they only need good enough. Starting meaning that it is still unusual, but companies have been forced to make this change by the market.

I doubt technical people will make more than C-- level people anytime soon. Right now your quick path to more money is in management. It is now a heard of thing for someone technical to make more than their boss, but it is still the exception not the rule.