Strong agree, but I also think some roles in big companies (for me, infrastructure) or in certain industries (eg trading/finance) can help build the same understanding without as much of the variance/raw exposure to bottom line.

Now that the role of the ticket-cruncher is on the path towards full commoditization, and individuals can move much more quickly (and even more carelessly!), I think product roles will probably shift towards one where developers are more deeply embedded in the product/business process so that they own/understand what to build without as much separation between the decision-making and prioritization of what to build. Or at least, they should.

It was eye opening to me to run the math of "should X people work for Y months on this project to save Z per year?" and realize that in so many cases, the time and effort it would cost to stop "wasting" money on things is WAY more than you could actually save on it. Even "small" projects can very quickly become $1M+ investments in time and resources, and the diminishing returns add up quickly (but also a good way to justify the value of your contributions, when done). But the job only exists if it saves money or makes money...