> there's just nothing out there that pays as well

Tech pay will flatten out/drop in the next decade.

Skill requirements are diverging. Tech skills are being commoditized by influential, huge, monopolistic companies. There is no licensing body to keep supply in check (like doctors, lawyers do) and there isn't one likely to be either. Put that together and you have a recipe for excess skill supply, replaceable talent and incredible effort required to switch roles.

One effect of that is lower pay.