I value equity at 0, so that's why might be seeing them as not that different. If you are a bit of a startup veteran you can also make good bank at German star

I value equity at 0, so that's why might be seeing them as not that different. If you are a bit of a startup veteran you can also make good bank at German startups, probably even more so if you come from SF. There are sadly (but also understandably) few software engineers that stay in the startup ecosystem for long, and those that do can be quite valued. That combined with the low cost of living, actually makes it very realistic to build up some wealth and achieve financial independence, no startup equity lottery needed. From everything I read on HN, that looks very different in SF.