I wish defense paid better. The problems are infinitely more interesting than ads. And it’s not like social media is a saint anyway.
IME here in Colorado, a lot of them pay as well, or better, than run of the mill tech companies. I suspect the AI and "FAANG" companies may pay more, but I personally wouldn't work for any of those. In any case, I'd take $160k in Colorado over $240k in California any day.
And the problems are definitely a lot more interesting.
Hmmm on the one hand murder, on the other hand ads