This misses the point. Prostoalex's point is that a senior engineer can pull $300k+ at a place like Google/Facebook/etc., all while working less than 9 hours a day with lavish perks.
When a senior engineer goes off and tries to work at a startup, it is precisely because they want to try playing the lottery (with a very fat equity slice), not because they're going out to try and get a ultra-competitive cash salary.
When a senior engineer goes off and tries to work at a startup, it is precisely because they want to try playing the lottery (with a very fat equity slice), not because they're going out to try and get a ultra-competitive cash salary.