AM I 1 OF 5000? | Episode #026

Are there really only 5,000 elite software engineers in the world doing the vast majority of the work?

Mike brought a viral post to The Stand Up that sparked a debate about what makes someone truly elite in their field. We break down Price's Law, salary justification, and whether technical mastery is even the right metric.

The conversation took an unexpected turn when we started talking about the best interview either of us ever experienced. An engineer who wanted 300k walked into the room and immediately asked about revenue and team size. Before we could even pitch the role, he did the math and told us we couldn't afford him. His framework? Every 100k in salary should produce a million dollars in value.

That conversation changed everything about how we think about hiring, compensation, and what it means to be world class at your craft.

We also get into the Silicon Valley Carver problem. How many people are perceived as elite because they interview well or jack other people's project success stories? Where do the truly best engineers actually work? Big tech? Agencies? Or are they building their own thing?

This episode is for anyone trying to figure out what mastery actually requires in the real world. Not the LinkedIn version. The business reality version.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - The 5,000 Elite Engineers Post

03:10 - Does Being Elite Mean High Salary?

07:42 - The Interview That Changed Everything

12:20 - Elite Engineers: Where Do They Work?

16:30 - The Carver Problem: Charlatans in Tech

20:00 - Thinking in Dollars and Cents

22:47 - Are You One of the Top 5,000?

Listen on All Platforms:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1V4SjmlnG2sntDnck8UrGW

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/strictly-from-nowhere-a-podcast-experiment-by-cause/id1804380172

iHeart Radio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-strictly-from-nowhere-a-po-315649122/

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