If you also take into consideration the years it takes to go from junior to senior/experienced in the systems area, salary becomes a much bigger deciding factor

If you also take into consideration the years it takes to go from junior to senior/experienced in the systems area, salary becomes a much bigger deciding factor. It’s not just 20k a year less for one year, its 20/30/40k less for as long as you’re mastering your area when you could spend less time mastering something else for more money.