Why are you assuming that the 10 programmers are less skilled than you are. Take this scenario: You(good programmer) write 1 kloc. 10 other (equally good) progr

Why are you assuming that the 10 programmers are less skilled than you are. Take this scenario: You(good programmer) write 1 kloc. 10 other (equally good) programmers write 1/10 kloc but each of them is willing to work for less than 1/10 your pay!* Isn't this a possibility in free market? So may be you dont have any intrinsic value. Your value is a function of how many similarly skilled programmers are out there. Since this applies to all trades, I guess the solution is to move to trades where the supply of "good" labour is less than your current trade. May be that is why the author's friends who moved to management get paid more. *assume: (communication/coordination overheads) + their pay < your pay