A friend of mine just left Google to work for Goldman Sachs in New York (as an analyst). Google paid her $90k + stock options that brought her salary up to about $160k/year. Goldman Sachs is paying her $390k as an analyst (for her intimate knowledge of Google), with a target bonus of 65% of her salary, and a goal bonus of 120% of her salary.<p>Some people really are making the choices between such wide ranges.