I have heard of a database "engineer" paid $250 an hour to spend weeks creating what is basically a connection string to a database in a corporate virtual lan. The people paying him were never concerned about the cost, just how long it was taking. This was in Nebraska.
In the right locations, developers can benefit from a profound lack of competition, especially if they have some enterprise software bullshit on their resume and some less savvy company nearby refuses to hire someone to do it remotely.
