Well, as a rule, you don't come to the academia for money. I am a software engineer who now works as a researcher in the university for 3x less salary, because

Well, as a rule, you don't come to the academia for money. I am a software engineer who now works as a researcher in the university for 3x less salary, because I just can't stand bigtech anymore (and probably unfit for corporate life in general). Another thing is that software engineers are extremely highly paid only in United States, and even there perhaps only in a few highly concentrated places. Everywhere else the difference is not that dramatic (and not everyone in the world with the skills can move to Bay Area).