I dunno. I've never worked a FAANG, but wage increases have been great for every new job. Maybe my US perspective is showing? Maybe move to a hotter market?
I'm in the US, but I won't be moving to a hotter market during the pandemic for sure. If your personal wages are "through the roof", good job, as I'm always for general upward pressure on wages. But the original statement was that dev wages were through the roof. Moving to get them is a new, originally unspecified condition that the statistics don't bear out.
To revise your original statement, "dev wages can be through the roof, if you live in one of a few hot markets that exist globally at least". To me that's like saying, "need more money? Just become the CEO". :)
You may be right about that. I don't interview often. I despise switching jobs because of the gamut of exams and tests they put you through. I've had 2-3 hour exams before. Sometimes coding, sometimes pure psych exams. It completely pushes me away from seeking new jobs. Thanks for mentioning it because sometimes people, including myself, lose the script.
