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I think the reason for high compensations is that software is the enabling factor for capital. If software can automate, reduce inefficiencies and generally be
by athenot 9y ago
I think the reason for high compensations is that software is the enabling factor for capital.
If software can automate, reduce inefficiencies and generally be the means to accomplish the business goal, then it makes sense for the business side to invest heavily into what is essentially a competitive differentiator.
The bimodal compensation reflects a growing split between software activities that are seen as an necessary operational burden, and those which are the "secret sauce" of the business. That's why fintech has traditionally been the highest paying field, as the return on investment is the most obvious for them.
Edit: typo (thanks tzahola!)
- tzahola 9y agoYou meant "increase efficiencies" or "reduce inefficiencies".
- meri_dian 9y agoThis seems like a key component of the answer. Of course, salaries are largely determined by the industry one is in. If you can position yourself at a place in the economy that attracts large amounts of money (per person) then you will be able to siphon off a relatively large amount for yourself. As software embeds itself in everything we do, developer earning potential will reflect the industry one is in. High tech firms like Apple and Google make huge amounts of money per employee, so people that work for them make huge amounts of money too. Not just software developers, but also people in sales and strategy, etc. Same for people in finance.
- geodel 9y agoI agree. I wonder why people do not make this correlation more often that cloud/fintech companies etc have likely put huge number of people out of work across the world. And disproportional chunk of that compensation has been collected by cloud companies and their employees.