Compared to what other members of the professions make, yes, it is reasonable to complain. How come when a lawyer charges $400/hr or a surgeon makes $800K/year

Compared to what other members of the professions make, yes, it is reasonable to complain. How come when a lawyer charges $400/hr or a surgeon makes $800K/year nobody bats an eyelid, but when an engineer gets $240K he should be deliriously happy, because it is more than the median salary in the USA. Most of us are very smart men/women, who typically have college degrees in hard sciences - why do we compare our salaries to median wages? BTW, in the Boston area, senior people make $160-$170K, not even close to $240K.