As an engineer with a remote job, you will be unlikely to get certain kinds of jobs that have the same sort of pay-off that people get locally. If I was a remote worker for Facebook or Google, I wouldn't be able to use the cafeteria, and most start-ups in early stage tend to want people onsite where they can talk to each other much more. Furthermore, companies seem to pay significantly more just to have you on-site. In contrast, I've noticed most of the remote jobs I've applied to just aren't as good in compensation as ones onsite. I can easily find a random job as a senior engineer for $160k+... but it's really hard to find that as a remote worker. The extra $20-$40k / yr does add up even if you're in a significantly lower cost of living area.
> I can easily find a random job as a senior engineer for $160k+... but it's really hard to find that as a remote worker. The extra $20-$40k / yr does add up even if you're in a significantly lower cost of living area.
I don't believe the $60K+ more a year ($160K SFBA vs $100K remote) makes a SFBA job a net positive, considering how substantially higher the cost of living is. Equity, of course, is always a lottery ticket.
