The housing market has a lot to do with it. In Canada, average home prices (all types) are up ~6x since 2000, and in specific cities like Vancouver and Toronto, even more so. Compensation has not kept pace. Back when I was a high school student, I didn't think pay was very important. Now I realize it's much easier to pursue one's curiosity if one can afford, say, a garage.

That leads to a follow up. Is the goal to have a home in one of those cities or is the goal to have a home? The first may require working in software while the latter could foreseeably mean you could be an EE elsewhere.

Everyone chooses their own goals and priorities of course. Where in Canada would you recommend for a young EE?

I don’t know Canada unfortunately. But maybe Windsor? EEs working as control engineers across the river in automotive while I was there could easily pull surgeon-level salaries in an area that has a cost of living a fraction below SV

What does it matter if it's in the 85th percentile if they can get more money in another industry?

The question isn't, "can you survive as an EE?" sure, you can survive as fry cook at a fast food chain. The question is, "will headhunters poach this occupation and have a high success rate due to the salary delta?" And the answer for the EE -> SWE transition is obviously yes.

The question isn’t about which pays more, it’s about whether the best tack is to treat an occupation as an economic transaction where the sole goal is to be a mercenary to the highest bidder.

If someone finds can find fulfillment dedicating their life to making ad-spend software while getting paid handsomely, that’s wonderful. But the larger point is that the comments seemed to be focused exclusively on the pay with little consideration to the work.