Engineers deserve their pay.
1 - The code that engineers write are assets of a company. The code might keep running and serving customers for years after a engineer has probably even left the company.
On the other hand, the work that most non-tech folks do are not assets, but an operational expense.
Companies don't derive benefit of a non-tech even beyond the same month the work is performed.
The difference is the same as painting your house vs brushing your teeth. You don't paint your house everyday but you do brush your teeth. Painting here is a long lasting asset, adds to the value of the house. Brushing is necessary work but with ultimately perishable benefits.
2 - Code that engineers write provide non-linear benefits. A team of 30 in Zerodha were able to serve 3-5x more customers in the pandemic. This same scalability does not apply to non-tech majdoori. Business has scaled? Hire more heads. Not with code.
Obviously above does not apply to senior managerial folks who build and architect the organisation, set the cultures, create processes. The impact of their work is long lasting and non-linear. But work of junior business non-tech folks - well, they're getting paid as much as the value they create. Low leverage, low pay. Coding is very high leverage.
Before you jump on me, I worked for sales in years. Then shifted to product. Above two points are a reality whether you like it or not.
