Sure it's a comparison between two industries, but I don't see why the observations don't translate. The young associates working for VCs don't rest on their laurels just because they have fat paychecks coming in. Indeed, they work incredibly hard to keep the gravy train from stopping. Why should it be different in engineering? Just because an engineer makes a lot doesn't mean he doesn't have tremendous incentive to create something of value, because ultimately if he doesn't those paychecks stop coming. Indeed, big paychecks and golden handcuffs are actually an incredibly effective way to get smart people to put in tremendous effort. It's a model that the Valley fully believes in and buys into, because that's the model VC firms use.