_If you're hired and paid by honest people, yes. If you're hired and paid by the moral equivalent of a car salesman[1], your pay is probably based more on what

_If you're hired and paid by honest people, yes. If you're hired and paid by the moral equivalent of a car salesman[1], your pay is probably based more on what they think they can get away with paying you._ Or they lack the ability to accurately judge people on their individual merits and/or abilities as a contributor. That is, a sales guy has a very clear cut idea of how much he's contributed. However, a guy who writes a lot of crappy code and causes problems for people that come after him would look stellar next to the schmuck who's got the untangle the mess he leaves behind. If management isn't technical...