That was my experience as well. The RSE role doesn't seem to fit into their current model. It doesn't work from a career path, nor from a competitive compensat

That was my experience as well. The RSE role doesn't seem to fit into their current model. It doesn't work from a career path, nor from a competitive compensation standpoint. I suspect that the housing crisis is also going to push more people out of these positions. If you have a PhD in material science, physics, chemistry, biology, etc... and are reasonably knowledgable in Python (or similar), perhaps spend a year as a postdoc. After that year, seriously consider moving to a tech company.