"But we don't have "hero civil engineers" any more"
Actually, not true. First, we have star architects, designers, etc. Then, even in highly skilled teams of those studios able to tackle the most difficult and innovative projects you have the "hero" ones with the most experience and skills. Remember a "hero" member of a team is not a "lone wolf" who doesn't collaborate - they are someone who are able to tackle difficult problems and be highly productive - and they can usually bring the whole team to higher levels by example and teaching.
Anyway, civil engineering as some thousands of years of experience - software engineering has at most sixty years, and it's still evolving at a very fast pace. There are far less "standard designs and procedures" to follow in software than in civil engineering, even for smaller projects.
You may consider "CEOs, executives and marketdroids" complete tossers, but that's not how most of the world sees them - and pay them.
Why, for example Apple & C. made a cartel to pay developers less, but not executives?
Biting the hand that feeds IT
