Platform Tools Tier List

Описание: Which platform engineering skills command $24,000+ higher salaries? We analyze 220+ tools from the Dice 2025 Tech Salary Report, break down the commoditization trap catching most engineers, and reveal S-tier specializations earning $130K-152K. Discover why Elasticsearch engineers out-earn Azure architects by $24K, and get practical 18-month roadmaps to move from B-tier to S-tier compensation.

🔗 Full episode page: https://platformengineeringplaybook.c...

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• The commoditization trap: Git (-3%), Docker (-2%), and Kubernetes (-1%) salaries are declining despite 93% adoption
• S-tier specializations: Elasticsearch ($139K), Kafka ($136K), Redis ($136K), Go ($135K) command premium salaries
• Fastest-growing skills: NLP (+21%), Document DBs (+21%), Caching (+16%), AWS CodeWhisperer (+16%)
• Career roadmap: 3-phase progression from $90-110K foundations → $115-125K core platform → $130-140K specialization
• Industry context matters: Insurance pays $146K median, Education $118K—a $28K gap independent of skills
• Certification trap: 15 cloud certs ≈ $120K, deep Elasticsearch expertise = $139K—$19K annual difference
• Platform-only engineers plateau at $140K; add Go programming ($150K+), data engineering ($155K), ML/AI ($160K), or security ($165K+) for higher compensation