I think you have a wrong impression of big tech in terms of career ladders. ICs who make very high salaries reach that by climbing career ladder too, the difference being that big tech has a separate ladder for IC vs manager. At higher IC levels, you still have to deal with all the politics to climb up. So don't move with the expectation that you won't need to climb the ladder and still make a million dollars. Having said that, check out the salaries at senior level for various companies, which is also considered a terminal IC level in most companies unless you want to climb the ladder. It is possible to make more than 300k at senior but the higher end at this level caps out around 500k in big tech. Another option to consider is HFTs or hedge funds, which usually have really flat hierarchy, but still pay higher than big tech senior level.

True. My impression was in big tech if your technical skills are solid you’ll automatically get promoted! Seems like I need to work on my “how to play the game” skills.
And unfortunately I can’t stand fintech so that’s not an option for me.
Thanks for your response! It was really helpful.