175K seems kinda crazy unless that's total yearly compensation including equity. These days even interns are making 80K+ though. The crazy SV money is in getting early equity in a company with enough secret sauce to make it long term, though, and those opportunities don't usually come with big salaries right away. It's also a very high risk way to be compensated. If you are in the position to do so, I suggest focusing on finding a job that's a good fit for your skills, work style and risk tolerance. Let the compensation details fall into place from there. Assuming you've joined a good group of people working on a real project, things will probably work out. (You of course need to be responsible for yourself and understand your financial situation. It's too easy to miss a deadline and lose equity options, for example.)