Mid 30s here, and I left tech to go into financial services because the total comp is so much higher as the parent comment alludes to after spending several years doing what I thought was fulfilling work (but it was not).
If I can make X in tech, or 2X-3X in financial services dealing with more day to day pain, I’m taking more money every day of the week. I don’t care about the team, the mission, the working environment, just the total dollars.
It's worth noting though, that this is how industries (e.g. finance) that look at it this way are filled with people (e.g. you) who look at it this way.
That doesn't mean they've achieved some sort of global optimum. Confirmation bias is a significant effect here, and it works the same way for people who are doing what they consider to be "socially meaningful" work, or whatever, as for people who are "maximizing paychecks".
Entirely possible. Luckily there are enough jobs to go around for both the “F you pay me” and the “Cash is not king” tech workers.
There are waaaaaay more startups claiming to help the social good or that they’re changing the world versus the number that are just money-driven enterprises. My problem is the disingenuity and virtue signaling being used to underpay workers.
If I can make X in tech, or 2X-3X in financial services dealing with more day to day pain, I’m taking more money every day of the week. I don’t care about the team, the mission, the working environment, just the total dollars.