Hilariously, in the 2010s you didn't need to become a VP to make that kind of money. You could go the principle or distinguished engineer route and still make

Hilariously, in the 2010s you didn't need to become a VP to make that kind of money. You could go the principle or distinguished engineer route and still make bank. In many (more purely tech) companies it is not unusual for senior engineers to be making the same salary as directors or VPs, though that may now be starting to change.