Sr. Engineers in IT can make $110-120k plus a 10-15% bonus, that’s quite a good package! Contractors easily make $60-75/hr W2. Architects can make upto $100+/hr 1099 if they are exceptional and find the right project and negotiate aggressively. Superior communication skills with technical prowess are key.
The law of diminishing returns applies, the taxes at that income level are ludicrous! Someone who makes $120k/yr and single has a marginal tax rate of 48%!!
At a senior level the depth and breadth of technical knowledge expected is nothing short of astounding. So generally speaking people who make this kind of money deserve it. It’s a law of demand and supply that sets the salaries. There may be many average people but there are just not enough people who have core expertise and experience designing high performance scalable enterprise systems. It is a very tough job and there is tremendous amount of career risk if you screw up. Most people who are successful love what they do and are not in it only for the money otherwise they would not survive the stress.
Compared to other specializations, the pay for what is expected is rather low. Consider that corporate attorneys can make upwards of $200k and anaestheologists can make $300k/yr+!!