Isn't 1k a day like, even if it was every day, an entry level tech job in the bay area? Surely you know some people who are making 400k+ in the bay area.

$250k/yr is attainable, but it's a bit higher than entry level. Fresh out of college, $100k/yr seems a bit more reasonable. Which is still a whole hell of a lot, way more than I made, but I didn't go to Stanford/MIT/etc.

Na, entry level roles are really around 120k. I know some people on higher amounts sure, but even places like Atherton and Woodside have average household incomes of $300/350k. I live in Palo Alto and have found the 200k mark for startups is pretty good for a fairly senior engineer at a cool company. Of course in the HN bubble we’re all making $1m before bonuses :)

$1k a day as a 1099 contractor is comparable to new grad w-2 compensation at a software firm in the bay area even before considering expenses...

That’s not as a contractor but as a master union electrician, and from what I gather it’s shift work on reactors so spending several months on site at that rate then having holiday until another gig comes up.