Great analysis. Also, the level at which the OP is understanding the situation means that he is never going to leave the world of the bullshit-takers. Thus his

Great analysis. Also, the level at which the OP is understanding the situation means that he is never going to leave the world of the bullshit-takers. Thus his best strategy is to work on continuously improving his technical competence so that he can be a higher-compensated bullshit-taker.