This is so wrong for a number of reasons. At any major tech company the total compensation is, in fact, parallel between both tracks. Most Staff/Principal+ eng

This is so wrong for a number of reasons. At any major tech company the total compensation is, in fact, parallel between both tracks. Most Staff/Principal+ engineers I have seen enjoy CONSIDERABLY better WLB compared to their management-track peers. In addition, they don't have to deal with random people drama nearly as much. If you want to get particular about it, that would mean that they are earning significantly more per-hour of work. How is this the "sucker's share of the bag"? I really don't mean to nitpick but your misspelling of "principal" (as well as the commenter in thread) makes me suspect you are new to the industry.