[hn_throwaway_99]

Honestly though, that trade-off seems quite fair to me. I mean, the big ah-hah I had after I spent about half a decade in software management roles is that the management track pays more because the jobs suck more. That is, the jobs themselves are actually quite undesirable for your average person. A job that is more rewarding naturally has more competition and thus pays less.

[planet-and-halo]

I think that's part of it, but I suspect it has more to do commercial enterprises being more competitive due to their greater resources.