I respectfully disagree, having worked in both software and carpentry. While I do feel that folks grossly underestimate the skills that the best carpenters acq

I respectfully disagree, having worked in both software and carpentry. While I do feel that folks grossly underestimate the skills that the best carpenters acquire over time, the software ecosystem generally is unique is that it's vastly large and complex. By any measure (switch points, surface area, person-years, etc.), the software we've all built in the past 70-ish years is the most complex thing ever implemented by human-kind. Long ago it became far too large for any one person to "master" to the same degree an excellent carpenter might master his or her skills. And the market agrees with the point of view, and values the economic output of the "best" software developers (at scale, not just one data point) at a far greater multiple over the "ok" ones, relative to other skills and trades. One may not like this analysis (and my associated statement), but it is the state of the world.