I wouldn't say "nearly impossible", although big companies do tend to have a few teams in that position. Everywhere I've worked, large or small, there have been

I wouldn't say "nearly impossible", although big companies do tend to have a few teams in that position. Everywhere I've worked, large or small, there have been a substantial number of engineers who justify their work in terms of money for the company and rocket up the career ladder because of it. (And I've seen a lot of seemingly "cog in the machine" tasks that have large dollar amounts attached as far as management is concerned.)