To quantify it, I guess it's the ratio of (physical or mental discomfort) to (compensation) that I'm talking about. I wouldn't say programmers have exceptional

To quantify it, I guess it's the ratio of (physical or mental discomfort) to (compensation) that I'm talking about. I wouldn't say programmers have exceptionally high mental discomfort; we certainly don't have high physical discomfort. And we're well compensated, relatively speaking. In contrast, we have oil field workers(?): uncomfortable physical and mental work, but well compensated. Or meat processors: uncomfortable physical and mental work, poorly compensated. By that metric, it seems like we're doing pretty well.