I definitely have survivorship bias, but I also know many people who've done similar things in different fields. I think knowing other people who make plenty of money helps, but often only by way of example. Knowing it's possible means you'll work harder.
“What I’ve seen contradicts measured statistics across the country” is not a convincing argument. Most users of HN probably live in a bubble; important to look at hard data from reliable sources rather than personal experiences.
> “What I’ve seen contradicts measured statistics across the country” is not a convincing argument.
You are not understanding the other possibilities here.
The other possibility is that yes, it is true that it is not that hard to make it to this level of success, but the stats are still true, and it is simply that people don't do this, for other reasons.
There are a multitude of reasons, as for why someone might not join lucrative fields, even if it isn't that hard to do so.
For example, maybe they simply aren't aware of it, or they incorrectly think it would be difficult. Or maybe there a social reasons why people don't do it.
Or maybe, in order to achieve that level of success they would have to move, and I know that lots of people don't want to do move.
A lot of people simply don't want to be HTPL maintenance, for example. It pays very well, but it's hard. That's not acceptable to a lot of folks right now.
My sister-in-law's fiancé is doing it as a journeyman, and he's making very close to what I do as a mid-level SWE.
