But those numbers are before RSU appreciation, which I suspect you're massively underestimating.
FB granted 5 years ago went from 128 to 326. AMZN 800 to 3200. AAPL 29 to 171. GOOG 800 to 2700. MSFT 62 to 311. (Netflix excluded for the obvious reason.)
So if your total comp is 500K and half or more of that is long-dated stock (or you just didn't sell) then over the last 4-5 years you could very well have been making million a year or so. And 500K is doable for an asst prof.
Not guaranteed, of course. But cash is comp is risky as well. How many professors got a 7% raise to adjust for inflation last year?
10x pre-appreciation is certainly possible after 5-10 years in industry, though. Probably not the norm, but not some crazy impossible out-of-reach number.
I understand what RSUs are, but the way I look at it, they are essentially payment for the fact that Google or whoever owns the IP to all of your output. The kind of IP language in contracts I've been under can be quite onerous, and NDAs can even prevent you from talking about your work freely! Or are there situations where industry researchers own the IP they create at e.g. Google, and can go on to create companies based off of that IP?
I'm sure; I didn't mean to imply otherwise. The appreciation in RSUs can have a staggering effect on total comp even to those of us who should know better :)
Regarding IP: Yup. It's true. If you're willing and able to do the work to make millions in ARR from your IP then academia can break even. (beware tech transfer... universities can be more predatory than the slimiest of VC firms!)
Even at tippy top R1s that's a tiny fraction of faculty and requires a ton of extra work. But, yeah, it's a good case where academia can make sense.
