In my experience startups typically pay more than other well established organizations, at least for Design/front-end roles. Agencies and Enterprise is typically where the low wages come from.
This doesn't factor in Silicon Valley. SV is an entirely different animal. The cost of living there throws the math way off. I can imagine that those wages are typically very low. $200k in SV is comparable to $70k in most other cities. This is why it's beneficial to work remotely for a SV startup and live somewhere more desirable.
I think we're conflating all startups with SV, which shouldn't be the case. Certainly folks joining SV startups IN SV are being taken for a ride.
> $200k in SV is comparable to $70k in most other cities.
What's the basis for that estimation? Given California's income tax and higher rent, I'd say that the difference in cost of living is $20-30k, not $130k.
One can easily work a few years in the Valley and buy a nice house in much of the country...and likely get an opportunity to work remotely if he/she has worked at the company a few years.
The raw numbers are nothing to sniff at, and you don't get that buying power in much of the country.
Part of the problem is the rampant NIMBYism in that area, which isn't really the fault of people doing startups. Still, though, it really adds to that area being expensive.
This doesn't factor in Silicon Valley. SV is an entirely different animal. The cost of living there throws the math way off. I can imagine that those wages are typically very low. $200k in SV is comparable to $70k in most other cities. This is why it's beneficial to work remotely for a SV startup and live somewhere more desirable.
I think we're conflating all startups with SV, which shouldn't be the case. Certainly folks joining SV startups IN SV are being taken for a ride.