[agildehaus]

Most people can become an average waiter very quickly, whereas most people hardly care to know how their computer works. The additional pay is for the huge amounts of time we've spent learning the craft, some of us being obsessed with it since childhood, and the mild rarity of the skill. Also because writing some code has the possibility of affecting huge numbers of people and bringing in a decent sum of money for a company, whereas you can only wait on so many tables per day for an industry known for its low margins.

That's not to say that the proportions are balanced, or that all good waiters are getting what they deserve, or that there aren't shoddy engineers who are getting far more than they deserve. There's just a lot more money in computers than foodservice.

[altoz]

I hate when people say stuff like X should get paid more or Y should get paid less. You can't say that without explaining your moral system. You can't go from is to ought.