That was always the "winning game". Only problem is that's a lot of work. The more things change, the more they stay the same; if you want more money, work harder. People who don't want to work harder complain that other people make more money because they either don't understand or are in denial about the amount of work the people they envy put in.

Yes there are exceptions. No pointing out exceptions won't help you, though it might make you temporarily feel better about yourself.

Define work harder. I think it is worth defining as it is ambiguous and could mean one or more of:

1. Longer hours at work

2. Same hours working but adding time learning

3. Ruthless optimization of time at work.

4. Working smarter (which probably means learning new skills).

5. Doing stuff that makes you uncomfortable. E.g. honest feedback, applying 2 levels above current, hand up to lead messy project etc.

You can be the hardest working burger flipper at McDonald's, but you are not going to be as financially secure as someone coasting on a FAANG salary.

Work harder on the right things. Digging holes in your backyard with a shovel is hard work but nobody is going to pay you for it.

In software engineering it isn’t necessarily the winning game. FAANG salary vs self employed isn’t that a case of “work hard and it’ll come”.