[sysadmindotfail]

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.

[Tempest1981]

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.