I'm not sure I can relate because I have never worked in that environment. If I'm not working for myself, then I'm working for very small start-ups. I operate

I'm not sure I can relate because I have never worked in that environment. If I'm not working for myself, then I'm working for very small start-ups. I operate on the principle that I need to go out and hustle to get what I want. I can't just sit around waiting for things to come to me (if I do that I will starve.) Tech skills are important here, but far more important is the ability to sell. Anyone can pick up the tech skills, but not everyone can sell. The top 5% engineers can probably sell solely through their tech skills, but the other 95% needs to play on different strengths. So, maybe those guys just lost their hustle? Maybe they are in that certain spot where they can bitch but really they are content? I'm assuming that these guys are still getting paid pretty well even if they aren't making as much as the managers.