I have no problem with getting less money for doing something I'm good at and not doing something I know I'd hate and probably suck at. After all, I gave up a career of a hedge fund manager and a billionaire already to be an engineer - probably for the same reasons, because I suspect I'd actually suck at hedge fund managing and won't become a billionaire. In the same vein, if I tried to become a director knowing I'd suck at it, I may briefly enjoy the benefits of higher salary, after which my incompetence and my dissatisfaction with the job would become apparent and I'd be asked to leave. So long term it is probably a bad plan, unless people I'm going to direct over and report to are exceptionally obtuse and won't notice me reaching my Peter ceiling. That happens, but why would I want my life to depend on it?
And remember, we're not talking about vow of poverty here exactly. 150K gets you in top 10% easily, and if you have a household with two 150K salaries you're pretty close to the much envied 1%. Maybe there's a point where more money wouldn't actually make it better if it comes with more frustration?
As for why directors get more money - again, I have no problem with people doing what I can't and won't do getting more money than I do. My life is not a competition with them, it's a competition with my last year self. If I win that, I'm good. Which means, if the company wants to keep a good engineer who thinks like me, they should be able to provide some track for me to be better next year - position-wise, money-wise, respect-wise, responsibility-wise, however it goes - than last year, without forcing people into doing something they may suck at.
And remember, we're not talking about vow of poverty here exactly. 150K gets you in top 10% easily, and if you have a household with two 150K salaries you're pretty close to the much envied 1%. Maybe there's a point where more money wouldn't actually make it better if it comes with more frustration?
As for why directors get more money - again, I have no problem with people doing what I can't and won't do getting more money than I do. My life is not a competition with them, it's a competition with my last year self. If I win that, I'm good. Which means, if the company wants to keep a good engineer who thinks like me, they should be able to provide some track for me to be better next year - position-wise, money-wise, respect-wise, responsibility-wise, however it goes - than last year, without forcing people into doing something they may suck at.