I’ll extend you the benefit of the doubt and assume your intention is to be helpful.

Can you be a little more specific and thus potentially actionable?

I'm just a dude playing a dude disguised as another dude. But I'll give it a shot.

You come off as having an inflated sense of the value you provide while being very bitter that you're not recognized for it. You seem to project the meritocracy playing out in your head on the "inevitable future."

The work you do is no doubt challenging and you seem to find it very rewarding in and of itself. There are presumably few people that choose to do this work, but you need to keep in mind that does not mean there aren't lots of people capable of doing it.

I mean, if anything I’ve spent more lonely nights with a bottle of Four Roses and some depressing existentialist book on a high rise tower balcony over not finding happiness in absurd pay than for any other reason.

Being overpaid even by the standards of what I outlined in the post tends to provoke a little guilt, in me at least.

Finding no joy in it whatsoever was legitimately depressing. Tyler Durden: “What now dad? I’ve got the degree/job/whatever, what comes next?”

Can’t buy that answer with RSUs. Or at least I never figured out how.

But yeah, the heavy duty hackers / mathematicians, who I am not one of! Are going to fuck everyone else up.

Unfortunately, I have neither the proper information nor interest to dig into that specifically. My best recommendation is to look into why I might have said that, and decide if you care at all what I thought. If so, take actions to change what things that you have a desire to change.

Maybe keep it to yourself if the game plan is to half-ass psychoanalyze someone and then bail when asked a follow up question?

Just because it's obvious to many that you need therapy doesn't mean that any who notice are capable or willing to give it.

If it’s not obvious to anyone from the recently deceased kid brother thing that therapy is indicated, I’d be curious how.

I’ve been getting therapy since way before that happened, most people could probably benefit from a little mental health checkup now and again.

What did I do to get your knickers so twisted that you’re banging on a recently-bereaved guy with thus far zero productive suggestions?

I'm sorry for your loss. I'm not trying to hammer on you for that. I hope you feel better soon.

That’s big of you. Thank you. We all lean on one another to make the community more positive when someone else is starting to fail at civility.

In that comment you were the person who sent things in a better direction. No sarcasm whatsoever: my regards friend.

I mean, I’m a little edgy about a fairly recent bereavement, but if that’s filtering into my opinions about comp structure then I’m probably pretty bad at my job, and therefore my opinions will trend towards utter irrelevance.