For one thing, software engineering is a lucrative profession. It pays more than most other white collar jobs in New York, except some law, some finance, and some consultants. But it is certainly better than the large swaths of people in marketing, HR, PR, accounting, etc.
The choice of city vs not city is completely independent of the startup vs non-startup thing.
If you are intent solely on maximizing cash in your pocket, then I doubt startups are the best path. If you want that, just go work on wall street. I grew up around that, and I've known for a long time that no matter how much money there is in it, it's not a great life.
For one thing, software engineering is a lucrative profession. It pays more than most other white collar jobs in New York, except some law, some finance, and some consultants. But it is certainly better than the large swaths of people in marketing, HR, PR, accounting, etc.
The choice of city vs not city is completely independent of the startup vs non-startup thing.
If you are intent solely on maximizing cash in your pocket, then I doubt startups are the best path. If you want that, just go work on wall street. I grew up around that, and I've known for a long time that no matter how much money there is in it, it's not a great life.