Run-of-the-mill full-stack + mobile web development + a tiny bit of DevOps. I am decent at understanding and solving business problems, and very efficient (and all around brilliant, let's be honest), but otherwise I don't feel like I'm doing anything special, technically. For the most part. Note 20k is $125/hour at 100% utilization, which I find rather easy to achieve.

I had spent years at $40/h, then upped to $60-70 after joining Toptal, but clients were paying $100+. Knowing who the clients willing to pay that much were, I found it possible to reach similar clients directly, and here I am.

I rather frequently take over really abysmally done work from previous developers. I don't think those developers are generally paid less than myself. So the takeaway appears to be that technical prowess is a minor factor in the whole picture.

I guess I'm just in the wrong part of the industry then. It seems $250k per year work is rare, at least outside of a few specific markets.