As a programmer for a bank, I'm in the ballpark after benefits/yearly bonus (humble brag) but having been on the lookout for remote work in my line of specialty, for me to get a good remote position I will probably have to take a pay/benefits cut. (Long commute before covid. remote during. "hybrid" after. Looking to get back to no commute with rising prices of everything)
Programmers with experience do make a good living but FAANG style jobs vastly skew what people think the average programmer makes. Just like unicorn companies make people forget that the vast majority of companies fail.
not to say you shouldn't support great companies but the average programmer salary isn't 150k. it's probably not even half that.
https://money.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/computer-programm...