It would be interesting to see if compensation is bimodal within a market. There's clearly a bimodal distribution between the US and the rest of the world, and has been for a long time. I think we're also moving toward a bimodal distribution between the top five or ten unicorns and everyone else even in the US. Quite simply, the companies with billions to spend are bidding up the price of talent willing to work there, while growth for everyone else remains slow. While the same has happened with fintech for a while, that has remained too small to show up on graphs. MAGA/FAANG/whatever, on the other hand, are collectively large enough to create a very visible second peak.

There are effectively two markets now. People don't expect to carry their compensation packages from one side of that fence to the other. I should know, since I made such a transition myself within the past year. In terms of effect on personal income, it's not that different than changing careers.