Since Oct 2012, I've gone from $32k, to $44k, to $75k, to $85k (and killer benefits) now. None of these were in SF, NYC, LA, Boston or Austin. All from switching jobs.
One thing not mentioned a lot in this discussion is that those triple- and double-digit increases tend to only happen early in one's career. Later in your career, it gets very difficult to find a different company that is willing to pay you even 10% more than you're making. You definitely will hit a ceiling at some point. My last job hop probably did not result in more than a 1% bump or so.
So, Junior Engineer going from $32K to $60K is totally believable. Senior Engineer going from $150K to $175K is going to be rarer. Super-Senior Engineer going from $190K to $225K seems unlikely (but probably does happen from time to time).
> Senior Engineer going from $150K to $175K is going to be rarer. Super-Senior Engineer going from $190K to $225K seems unlikely (but probably does happen from time to time).
I don't think either of those are particularly rare. If you're learning and negotiating aggressively, the salary ramp is very steep.
There is absolutely a ceiling, but it's probably closer to $300k than $150k.
Just to give a anecdotal data point. I'm in that high end range and have been for a long time, and I go between it (a little higher and lower for that matter) based on the job opportunity. Literally, I've taken jobs that go down that much because it sounded like a good job. Similarly, I've been given raises that much because of a variety of factors.
But to your larger point, at the top end of the scale, to make dramatically more money you need to get attached to the business revenue directly, either as a founder, a partner, a solo operator etc.
