> average compensation at normal companies is $120k-$160k/yr
This also doesn't like up with my experience. It's hard to get true averages for things like this in America.
Also, 250k is a lot less than 500k. It's still a ton of money -- I don't mean to say that top companies don't pay you well. They absolutely do. But 500k is a TON of money.
https://www.levels.fyi/ you can't scroll 15 seconds there without running into a $250k+ compensation package.