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I have to wonder what makes these folks so indispensable in a well-oiled machine such as the FAANG+ companies that they need to be so highly compensated. We kno

I have to wonder what makes these folks so indispensable in a well-oiled machine such as the FAANG+ companies that they need to be so highly compensated. We know they engineer for an incredible level of site reliability, with CI CD/testing to further prevent failure. I doubt that in companies this size any one person is going to have a domain of influence beyond what a pretty competent manager is going to be able to handle. What is it that they know or do that an intermediate engineer can’t, assuming the guardrails are in place? Assuming they leave, is there not a pipeline of incredibly talented people waiting in the wings behind them? This is not an indictment of wealth or capitalism or anything like that, I’m genuinely curious.

rcacho 6y ago
It seems like you are imagining that highly prized engineers are valued for their ability to write bug free code or have their code correctly meet expected requirements. This individual is likely being paid this amount because of their ability to identify and solve difficult problems. There aren't guardrails for that sort of thing. As to their replaceability, I think it's a case of it being a safe option. This person has proven themselves, through their experience, that they are worth this amount. There may be others out there who can do the same work but they haven't "proven" themselves. Whether the value obtained from an engineer paid this amount is worth it is another question. Are they providing twice the value of an engineer paid $445k? Maybe not, but this person is in a better place to negotiate.