[beaeglebeachedd]

After decades in industry it becomes obvious some people really generate 5x+ of a new hire. Not sure why they shouldn't be able to capture that wealth when the market bears it. I don't make nearly 500k but I'm happy for most anyone that does.

[dventimi]

As someone who isn't in law, medicine, or finance but must from time to time pay for legal services, medical care, and financial advice, I'm not happy there are lawyers, finance people, and doctors who make $500k. I'm doubly not happy when I have to compete with those people for housing and other goods and services.

[srhtftw]

Indeed. The bay area was a better place before google compensation priced everyone else out of it.

[dventimi]

Testify

[throwaway14356]

Of course, even 10x is possible. We all wish that was always the case.

I had this hilarious though I feel I should write down here but doubt it at the same time. ..

The best way to have a wage gap is lack of access to education or even books. Second would be to have access but not make an effort.

It makes me wonder is there is data on physical punishment. people say it is a terrible thing but I would love to put them in some loud factory conveyor belt job for a decade or so with just a few more bills than salary. To call me a sadist is to agree :p

[conductr]

Is it not more about specialization and deep domain experience than raw output?

If I just need raw output, the army of juniors is a viable solution. You might even find it’s preferable if you have many separate functions or projects or think you may flex down/up the labor expense later on.

[simonw]

In software development it's not uncommon to have a staff engineer who outproduces juniors in terms of raw output by a 5x factor.

[conductr]

With similar work that should be expected. It would be the same with cabinet making as well. But in cabinet making, they’d hire 5 juniors if it was less than a single experienced person. The experienced guy has a job because sometimes a project requires complex and fast solutions, even if pace is reduced by the complexity.