Rumors of huge payoffs would be cheap to start. I can't speak to the situation in Taiwan, but in the US it's dismal.
The rumors I heard from disgruntled relatives and postdocs I met in nanofab class prevented me from going down that path despite the strong allure and good match to my interests and skills.
My current job is nowhere near as interesting, but it pays me with actual money, and though that decision felt overwhelmingly cynical when I initially jumped ship, a quick survey of the others in my cohort who didn't jump ship leaves me with few regrets. They work a multiple harder than I do, on things a large multiple more important than I do, and they get paid a fraction what I do.
As a reward for taking the high road, they are likely to lose their jobs as the United States continues shipping semiconductor manufacturing and engineering abroad.
For brain-power-application Vs Payoff, Web Software already overpays. I chatted with crossword designer a few weeks back, and it was fairly heavy brain work for little pay. Similarly, there are lots of people, including electronics engineers who put in fairly more brain work and make little out of it.
Software outside Web dev is somewhat similar too. You don't get paid that much.
"Overpays" is relative, certainly there are no shortage of examples compared to which it underpays, but it does seem to be a trend that smarter (and physically harder) jobs have poorer pay. I wasn't even including the FAANG/SV premium and that's still true.
It's a pity. I would love to apply more brain power in my day job, but there's such a negative incentive for doing so that I can't stomach the cost. So I've got a hobby. Oh well.
The rumors I heard from disgruntled relatives and postdocs I met in nanofab class prevented me from going down that path despite the strong allure and good match to my interests and skills.
My current job is nowhere near as interesting, but it pays me with actual money, and though that decision felt overwhelmingly cynical when I initially jumped ship, a quick survey of the others in my cohort who didn't jump ship leaves me with few regrets. They work a multiple harder than I do, on things a large multiple more important than I do, and they get paid a fraction what I do.
As a reward for taking the high road, they are likely to lose their jobs as the United States continues shipping semiconductor manufacturing and engineering abroad.