That is precisely a significant reason why I left DC - the pay is tied heavily to years of experience, and getting something like $150k is difficult, albeit not

That is precisely a significant reason why I left DC - the pay is tied heavily to years of experience, and getting something like $150k is difficult, albeit not impossible, to do there. I'm not sure if I buy that a Stanford graduate would necessarily net $150k starting at most companies (certainly possible at big companies, but I am skeptical - one software engineer told me that at one tech giant, he was offered $160k as a senior engineer, and was told that was about the max they could offer any software engineer then. He was a lead developer for a major group for this company, and this was with proven productivity) - I certainly wouldn't hire one at that price currently unless they are absolutely stellar, and I work in downtown Palo Alto for a pretty healthy startup. At that base salary, they'd be making around my salary, with far less productivity and likely even less potential. $120k is more in the ballpark one might make typically , and even then I'd want a strong mind that is open to teaching/mentoring & investing in developing himself/herself.