There seems to be the idea in non-tech jobs
that Stripes need to be Earned. Gotta do your Hard Time before you're as qualified as a Senior person to do the Senior person's job.
While I'm a firm believer that you have to work your way up, successful technology companies generally reward production, not experience. It's a self-selecting process that guarantees that the top producers will be rewarded appropriately.
Maybe because the work is less quantifiable, but in non-tech companies, there seems to be a lot more politicking and ass-covering than there should be.