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i think (the US ones) are extremely overpaid for the quality of software that goes around. It's just a result of captive markets

• HeyLaughingBoy 5y ago
  Again, they're paid for value they create. Don't equate quality of software with the value of that software. A simple example: a crappy $500 beater may have immense value because it gets me to work every day, even if the door is held closed by a coat hanger and I have plastic sheet taped over the missing back window.
  • cblconfederate 5y ago
    most of the value they create is raising the company's stock by simply existing. Whether they are valueable to other people is another thing, for one, if the value they created to other companies was comparable, there wouldn't be such extreme inequality in valuations of tech vs rest of the economy
  • adam_arthur 5y ago
    Employees tend to get paid on the basis of supply and demand in the labor market. The value you create just puts a ceiling on the equilibrium pay. Simple thought experiment. I have a button that creates a million dollars anytime it's pressed. How much should/do I need to pay for somebody to sit there and press it all day? In fact you can probably pay minimum wage because low skill work and easy to find people. That being said, as an employee you can leverage the unique value you provide into higher pay, assuming you're able to persuade your employer. E.g. imagine you could press the button twice as fast as anybody else... Suddenly you're in a strong position to negotiate for a million dollars per press. But the value you provide has to be unique relative to the labor market. Looking at unique value, and ability to convince others of that unique value, is more relevant than the absolute value you create.