AM I 1 OF 5000? | Episode #026
Fri Feb 06 2026
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/
Support the Show:
Patreon: http://patreon.com/StrictlyFromNowhere
Connect With Us:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/strictly-from-nowhere
Website: https://www.causeofakind.com/strictly-from-nowhere
Brought to you by Cause of a Kind, a boutique software development and digital creative agency from Long Island, New York.
Let's build something. Together.
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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/ Support the Show: Patreon: http://patreon.com/StrictlyFromNowhere Connect With Us: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/strictly-from-nowhere Website: https://www.causeofakind.com/strictly-from-nowhere Brought to you by Cause of a Kind, a boutique software development and digital creative agency from Long Island, New York. Let's build something. Together.