> For some reason people assume that you get paid more in order to deal with less interesting work or a worse work environment. > This is completely false. I

> For some reason people assume that you get paid more in order to deal with less interesting work or a worse work environment. > This is completely false. I wouldn't say it's completely false. For example, I'm guessing many enterprise software developers make more than many CS professors. Said professors are obviously qualified to make CRUD apps but they would rather do research or teach curriculums based on their interests. > The company values you more, when they make more from what you are able to contribute, on average. Yes, this is true. But your conclusion does not follow from that: > Highly paid engineering work environments are strongly correlated with interesting work and with good working conditions. There is probably some correlation between interesting work for the engineer on the one hand and profitable work for the employer on the other, but it's not nearly as strong as you make it seem.