If almost all the skilled jobs are similarly “overpaid”, maybe that’s just what ordinary good pay looks like.

Some people might be underpaid, and that would be a different angle.

As it is, in the Bay Area, a typical startup software engineer only earns 4-5x what a person that makes burgers at a fast food restaurant makes. (Typically they make $20+ per hour, so $40k+ per year). Despite years of education, monetary investment in education, constant re training, long hours, etc. It doesn’t seem an unreasonable multiple to me, just trying to get a sense of the situation.

Those arguing that we should make less than or around $100k, are we really producing no more value than 2 people making burgers, or one especially fast burger maker?

Also note that wait staff at good restaurants in SF can earn $80-100k.

And even decent outsourced developers in low cost of living countries charge $30-50 per hour (60k-100k per year). With again, less impressive education, and assuming a 40 hour work week which is lower than many engineers in the Bay Area work, and that’s not even for top skilled outsourced work. Try paying less than this now, you’ll pay for it multiple times over later.

True. But interestingly, few of these people believe that THEIR job is one of the "BS jobs out there"