You’re not wrong but at the same time I was hiring for a senior engineer a year ago and the market was ridiculous. Seniors only wanted to work if they could do part time for six figures and the consensus was they should be allowed to work 2-3 companies at once.
This is just the way the market works, whoever has the greater demand will always use that fact to their demand. So while it may suck to be an engineer compared to the ones hiring them: that’s just the nature of our mode of production.
To a European this kind of description always boggles the mind.
Having been in the field for 12 years, with a degree in CS, worked as a senior IC and been personally responsible for critical projects at financial institutions and startups alike, the highest wage I have ever had was 75k. And this is in western Europe.
In a way I hope that in the near future more US firms start looking outside their boarders when hiring.
Because there is plenty of hungry talent here just waiting for a chance.
Working for Google is not the goal for all developers.
I personally know enough who are or have been employed there to know that the gauntlet to get hired is stressful enough and unlikely enough for a skilled developer to get through that I'm not sure I would even ever give it a go.
From those same personal connections, there have plenty of stories about feeling like a tiny insignifican cog in a giant soulless machine (which any giant company like this would be) that I wouldn't want to work there. Let it also be said I have heard great things from individuals working at Google (it is a large enough workplace that any kind of situation will be found there).
It just doesn't sound like the place for me.
My perfect employer would be a software development company, focusing on a product or product range, with product market fit and an actually profitable, with hopefully no more than 300 employees (not gotten too big).
This is just the way the market works, whoever has the greater demand will always use that fact to their demand. So while it may suck to be an engineer compared to the ones hiring them: that’s just the nature of our mode of production.