I have family members who consider themselves "real engineers" compared to me, an SWE. They have backgrounds in Mechanical and other "traditional" engineering fields.
About once a quarter I am subject to conversations where they remark condescendingly about how flabbergasted they are at SWE salaries. I stopped engaging beyond "Mmm if you're interested you should learn more about the field".
This interaction is beyond grating and is detrimental to our relationships.
Yep, sounds like one of those "agree to disagree" topics. Or diffuse using mild humor, like you have tried. Or redirect, and blame supply and demand, or social media.
About once a quarter I am subject to conversations where they remark condescendingly about how flabbergasted they are at SWE salaries. I stopped engaging beyond "Mmm if you're interested you should learn more about the field".
This interaction is beyond grating and is detrimental to our relationships.