While I have a lot of freedom at work to explore side projects and random stuff and I spend a lot of time doing so, there is a part of me that feels like there'

While I have a lot of freedom at work to explore side projects and random stuff and I spend a lot of time doing so, there is a part of me that feels like there's a reason software engineers, at least in the US, are paid so damn much. To me, it's kind of implied that I'm paid <ridiculous amount compared to virtually any other job with similar requiring similar amount of training> is because I'm going to be doing more than the 35-40whatever hours I spend at the office. Part of that is support (though about half of the jobs I've had involved little to no on call duty), part of it is training one self, in addition to everything I have to do during the day. Let's call it discretionary overtime baked in pay since we're usually salaried.