The thing is, you don’t have to actually be particularly good at software development in order to get a high-paying programming job. Even mediocre or very junior programmers can easily break six figures, something that’s much harder even in other intellectual labor positions in the Bay Area (e.g. technical writing, which is what I do). So, while I don’t disagree that being a good software developer is very difficult, I definitely don’t think that explains away the issue discussed in the OP, and I definitely disagree that “very few can become good enough to be paid for” software development.
(Source: I work for a software recruiting company where I have access to information on both the skill level and the salary of thousands of software developers.)
The thing is, you don’t have to actually be particularly good at software development in order to get a high-paying programming job. Even mediocre or very junior programmers can easily break six figures, something that’s much harder even in other intellectual labor positions in the Bay Area (e.g. technical writing, which is what I do). So, while I don’t disagree that being a good software developer is very difficult, I definitely don’t think that explains away the issue discussed in the OP, and I definitely disagree that “very few can become good enough to be paid for” software development.
(Source: I work for a software recruiting company where I have access to information on both the skill level and the salary of thousands of software developers.)