Relative to what? There's no such thing as an absolute "that's a lot". If you poke into it, you'll probably find that the "lot" assumption is typically "relat

Relative to what? There's no such thing as an absolute "that's a lot". If you poke into it, you'll probably find that the "lot" assumption is typically "relative to what other masters and PhDs from universities are paid". So why not hire them instead?