You're correct. I think the issue is that most employees overvalue the equity, and undervalue the volatility. People think "I have 10,000 shares, and they cou

You're correct. I think the issue is that most employees overvalue the equity, and undervalue the volatility. People think "I have 10,000 shares, and they could be worth 100 each someday - that's a million dollars!" rather than "I have 0.1% of a company that's currently worth $100 million based on the recent funding round. That's worth $100,000 in today's dollars if I stick around for 4 years, but probably will be either a lot more or less by the time that comes around." But the to larger point above - what I meant in Glassdoor is they only capture base salaries. Not that they're not inherently invaluable. Otherwise you'd see a lot more outsize #s for banks.