> Feels like so much of the career discussion in CS is concentrated on TC optimization - it's good to remember that one can choose to optimize for different things too.

It's easy to optimize for total compensation, since that's an easy to measure metric. If job A pays 20% more than job B, then one can easily evaluate that. It's harder to see that job A might be working on ethically dubious projects, may have longer work hours, more stress, or might just be at a company that's more successful than the one that has job B.

Best of luck on your decision, and feel free to reach out if you want.