The road less traveled
Gergely Orosz posted a good reminder today (and maybe for some newer workers a wakeup call) about why some tech jobs pay better than others:
I think many of us working in tech tend to forget that the reason software engineering vs other engineering fields pays (a lot!) more, is a lot more flexible (WFH/remote), and has better perks:
— Gergely Orosz (@GergelyOrosz) October 23, 2026
Because this field changes much faster than other engineering fields. The premium is because fewer people are able/willing to pick up new technologies, methodologies so quickly.
But the field had ~10-20 years of stability, and so lots of folks forgot this is why a premium exists. And that AI is just another tech wave: software engineers who pick it up and master it will generally fare better; those not will struggle a lot more.
He's speaking to SW engineers- but IMO the observation extrapolates generally to many roles, within the technology industry but also inside more traditional companies where technologists command a premium. It's an earned benefit for work (often happening outside the clean boundaries of a "work day".
This is not unique to tech!
One theme I come back to a lot is the differentiating effect of hard work. Let's be 100% clear I'm not talking about performative benefits or "being seen as" a hard worker.
There's a famous anecdote recounting Warren Buffett's reply to a student's question when he was a guest lecturer at a Columbia Business School class in the early 2000s and well established as the "Oracle of Omaha". A student asked how to be successful as an investor. Buffett paused, then picked up a stack of reports and trade journals he had with him and waved them in front of the class:
“Read 500 pages like this every day,” said Buffett, or words to that effect. “That’s how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest. All of you can do it, but I guarantee not many of you will do it.”
Warren Buffett comments to a class at Columbia Business School (2000–2002) recalled by Todd Combs
Have a great weekend!
