Sure, but keep in mind how this often works.
Base Salary say about $175k
Then a 25% bonus paid twice a year
Then maybe RSUs that vest a little each year
So let's say you get the full 25% one year (it varies based on your & company performance)
Then maybe you make another 50k from RSU stock vesting
It adds up. Several years recently I pulled in bonus & RSU money that equaled my Salary for a year.
If your base salary is $150k, boom you are at 300k
BUT!! The stock can drop, the company can miss their numbers and suddenly the next year you get no bonus, no stock income and you are back to $150k. And if you are smart you have been living on 150k the whole time and doing something clever with the rest. Then it's all good. You wait for the next good run.
This is all the “sane” stuff mind you. Try going into sales. People getting 750k or even 1.2M for one year. But even for them, it comes and goes. Some years suck.
Pretty much the only folks that get paid crazy money no matter good or bad are the Execs. And they get paid crazy even if everything is falling down. Now if you can manage to be an exec at a company doing super well, wellcrazy doesn't touch it. It gets downright into Divorce Attorney/Oil Exec/Defence Lobyist type of money. $100M for 1 year as CEO type stuff.
But when your Mortgage + Prop tax burns $5–7k/month (some WAY more, very few under 4K)
And then you pay for everything else (car(s)/utilities, food, etc)
10k/month can be gone must faster than you think. So don't think at $300k folks like kings on 100ft boats. Super comfortable. Super lucky for sure. But not swimming in your bank valut. Most are poring it all into their house and their children's education. And maybe a big TV ;-)
I’ll tell you the two best things about living in the Bay Area.
Amazing Weather
&
Lots of smart folks
Everything else cycles ;-)
