To me, one of the most agonizing parts of programming is that whenever I think I have discovered something new and write down a good explanation for it, I inevitably find out that a pioneer programmer from long ago has already given the exact same phenomenon a much more elegant name. Your analogy of the Journeyman explains the model I was trying to describe far more gracefully.

I actually think all these industry issues arise because the ultimate role most programmers aspire to is that of the Master. They want to be the ones designing the rules, frameworks, and architectures that mass produce journeymen. In reality, a department head at a major tech company certainly holds a position worthy of being called a Master.

However, I believe being a Journeyman is a thoroughly valuable and respectable end destination in itself. The reason is that once someone becomes a Master, they drift away from the actual field. They start focusing purely on building tools for the journeymen, whereas it is the journeyman who generally remains closest to the actual consumers.

I read your comment carefully. Thank you for taking the time to reply, and have a great day. It's been a weekend full of things to think about.