> have a hard time procuring a large compensation package employed as a software engineer in a utility company
in which case, there ought to be market pressure for software engineers to move away from such companies. When the company finds out they actually need a good programmer, they end up having to pay more again for quality (perhaps, indirectly, via consulting companies). But the current anecdotal evidence is that those companies _can_ pay very little, and yet, no catastrophe has happened. The only valid business conclusion is that the highly paid engineers aren't needed there!
> But the current anecdotal evidence is that those companies _can_ pay very little, and yet, no catastrophe has happened. The only valid business conclusion is that the highly paid engineers aren't needed there!
They pay in other ways: increased layers of management, decreased development speed, decreased software quality. One argument is that they manage to stay in business anyway — but I think we're actually seeing places like that start to go out of business, or at least be surpassed, by nimbler firms. The world is all about information, and those that can do more, faster with it are at a tremendous advantage.
in which case, there ought to be market pressure for software engineers to move away from such companies. When the company finds out they actually need a good programmer, they end up having to pay more again for quality (perhaps, indirectly, via consulting companies). But the current anecdotal evidence is that those companies _can_ pay very little, and yet, no catastrophe has happened. The only valid business conclusion is that the highly paid engineers aren't needed there!