I mean, in the US in 2017 after condensed matter Physics PhD where I did nanofab I could go work for intel/asml/lam and get like 110-140k starting. Or I could d

I mean, in the US in 2017 after condensed matter Physics PhD where I did nanofab I could go work for intel/asml/lam and get like 110-140k starting. Or I could do data science/more SWE related and get 140-250k. The choice wasn't very hard. The lowest software job paid as much as the highest hardware job despite me being a specialist in the nanofab/hardware. Also, the opportunities for growth/future earnings/work life balance/etc are all better with software related jobs.