I didn&#x27;t say there aren&#x27;t programmers making $400k or any particular figure. I said it&#x27;s not common. And I don&#x27;t think you&#x27;ve written anything here that would convince me that it is common. Could you link to some statistics that show $400k base salaries are common among programmers in the Bay Area in any reasonable sense? If so, then I will completely re-evaluate my stance.<p>My guess is that $400k is about as high as it gets (feel free to correct me if I&#x27;m wrong -- with a reliable source, mind you). If we&#x27;re going to do a fair comparison to doctors, then we need to compare it to a top income for a doctor as well, which is easily in excess of $1M&#x2F;year.