So. I've decided to venture into "management" at a smaller company. I've been going back and forth between whether I should stay as an individual technical contributor or move into leadership and form teams to do the work... The small company in the Los Angeles area offered me an opportunity I couldn't refuse. I am going to running a group of 6 software engineers. The company is private so the stock grants are worthless . In lieu of that, they are starting me at $200k base salary, 15-20% annual bonus, half is individual based, half is company performance based (company is profitable). Medical, dental, vision, same as Intel, matching 401k up to 8% of base salary.
Cost of living in parts of LA about 10% lower than santa Clara. Plus there are a lot of companies nearby and in orange county.
I just don't know how long it would take me at Intel to reach a similar position.
From what recruiters are telling me, the job market in Southern California is on fire. Expect to see at least a 10-15% comp bump. So I guess it is a job seekers market right now, at least in tech.