Who knows. I'm right there with you, though I have 1 child and 1 more on the way I am supporting with a below-median salary in my area (not SV, but not a cheap place to live either).

But here's what I do know: When I was working as a data scientist, making $150k+ with 3 days WFH and six hour days, my life looked "great" from the outside. I made a ton of money, got to work from home, and worked on a respectable product predicting tax rates.

Inside, I hated everything I did and my family suffered. I strongly considered quitting and going back to waiting tables and walking away from the (often) parasitic industry that is software development, full of "bullshit jobs" as one analyst has so eloquently put it.

I now work as a sports scientist and I've sold 40% of my company to hire a partner who really completes the business. We did six figures of revenue last year and we'll do seven in 2-3 years. But it's not about the money, is it? It's about the fact we get to decide our own path. And for me, that's all that I needed to become a happier person, better husband, and good father. The money can wait, I've found.