They are the individuals who interviewed at multiple places, got multiple job offers, and negotiated with the employer of their choice.
The problem with working for Abu-Dabi or some non-tech company is they won't know how to assess engineering value, and so I doubt they'd pay a premium for it. Perhaps some desperate company would do payscale * 20%.
The desperate rich non-tech company approach might work well for someone with a very nice looking resume with lots of corporate experience, who actually isn't very good.
However, none of that that will compare to a great engineer starting a bidding war between major tech companies (google, facebook, amazon, etc.). Companies that have a much better idea of what you're worth, and are willing to pay.
Including (but not limited to):
- Before or after taxes?
- Are you talking about grossing the most money or having it go the farthest?
$90k in SF is different from $90k in Austin which is very different from $90k in New York.
You always have to account for cost of living in the area and cost of compensation type. (Payments from equity or options are taxed differently than income)
My guess would be that you would get a higher dollar amount offer as a talented high level engineer in SF or coding just about anything for bank in NYC.
But the money wouldn't go as far as it would in a Austin, Houston , or an Atlanta.