A good full stack developer should have double the salary of a frontend/backend developer. Do you find this is the case? You need to be an expert at both roles plus have a third skill connecting them together.
A good full stack developer should
have double the salary of a frontend/backend
developer
There are (at least) two major reasons why this is not the case.
1. While theoretically possible, it's uncommon (and given the rate of change and increasing complexity of both front end and back end stacks, unrealistic) for a "full stack developer" to have expert-level production knowledge in both domains.
2. Even if #1 was true for a given developer, they wouldn't have double the productivity (and/or billable hours per week) as somebody who was more of a front-end or back-end specialist.
It's similar to the reasons why, in the medial world, general practicioners (aka "family doctors") do not earn money that is the... sum of all other medical professions earnings. They are generalists . Their role is to solve many problems, but also to refer many problems to the appropriate specialist.
I think there's often a leeway given to the full stack dev that they have strengths and limitations. I haven't got to the point where I could compete with the true / good front end dev with my skills.
Even at the backend you have the application backend (c# or whatever) and then sql/rdbms. If you are that good perhaps you deserve thrice the pay by this logic ;).
Jokes aside, at the last good company I worked for where I knew other people's pay, I was compensated for the entirety of my skills compared to the good front end dev. We earned the same, and I was quite happy with that.
I've been a backend developer for years and at times a frontend developer.
I've applied to a few full stack positions and the amount of specific knowledge in various topics they require seems much greater than either role separately.
When hiring or interviewing we tend to build up a big list of skills so the job looks impressive and attracts talent. Don't take the requirements too seriously.
Ideally the person doing the hiring is just measuring your knowledge. But I know many interviewers just try to eliminate candidates.
