I have been having some thoughts lately about salary and total compensation.
In posts that I've seen on forums such as WSO, there is a fixation on the monetary aspect of choosing a career. Indeed, nobody wants to take a job that does not pay particularly well, and it is a good thing to know about the monetary rewards of different careers so you can attempt to pursue them accordingly.
However, I do not think that salary and total compensation should be the singular factor in determining what career you should pursue. For instance, it is well known that elite hedge funds (Citadel, Two-Sigma, etc), and elite prop shops (Jane Street and company), offer sizeable compensation packages, especially for first-year hires. Yet, for many people aspiring to join these firms, I am not sure they would be particularly happy in these environments given their personality, values, and aspired lifestyle. If you are not genuinely interested in statistics, software engineering, or another quantitative discipline, is it worth it to spend the time to become acquainted with the skill-set you need to obtain that position? Or should you focus on furthering your skills in subjects/areas you genuinely enjoy?
If you are someone who is interested in a wide range of disciplines, perhaps you are better spending your time expanding the breadth of your knowledge as opposed to bogging yourself down in the minutiae of a particular subject at the expense of your personal enjoyment. Additionally, if your productivity occurs in bursts (i.e. is non-linear), maybe a corporate career is not ideal for you.
My point in saying all of this is that we often obtain career advice from people who are not optimizing for the same things in life. Unless you are lucky enough to find a mentor who has the same interests, values, and outlook on life as you do, you may end up taking advice which leads you astray. We are not all optimizing for the same thing in life, and you have to be extremely acquainted with yourself to understand what areas of your life you value the most so that you do not wake up every day in a situation you absolutely dread.
I know this post is idealistic and is probably controversial; good. I want to promote discussion on this topic as I believe it could combat the issues many people face when it comes to enjoying their career (or another pursuit) and finding life satisfaction.
Your post is way too idealistic IMO. The idea of "expanding the breadth of your knowledge" is overall useless because generally that does not lead to making any sort of major salary. Since the days of Ford, we have discovered that efficiency exists through specialization. This is a topic also found in econ through comparative advantage. If you are a generalist, chances are you won't be making a ton. The 2nd paragraph of your argument seems to fixate on the idea that only quants make good money, which is seriously off. It's not just the coding nerds who have the potential to make money. Also maybe you should read WSO a little more in depth before making comments like this. Sure comp is definitely mentioned and like every job that is an important factor but its not the only factor mentioned. Exit-opps are mentioned, just in case people get bored with their career and want to lateral into another field. Furthermore, the skill level of the job is also mentioned. FO roles are given more regard here because generally the work is much more intellectually stimulating then BO roles (keep in mind that the audience of WSO is on average smarter than the US population). And the fact of the matter is if you want a decent life, you need to consider salary as one of the main factors. Unless you are fine living from paycheck to paycheck or having to work 2 jobs just to make ends meet, you should look at the salary in advance.
Sorry you felt like I only believed quants earned good comp. that was not my intention. The core idea I was getting at here is that people are not optimizing for the same thing; our objective functions are different. One may optimize for money, another for free time, another for intellectual flexibility, etc. I just used the quant comp as an example that it takes a certain person to enjoy that job. And I also agree that, to a large extent, specialization is necessary to earn a salary and obtain a good career.
In a very broad sense I agree with the OP.
However OP, most people, myself included have to learn all that stuff by ourselves. Deep down many of us know it but unfortunately that's just life.
There is the whole every person has his or her personal situation as well. Maybe he or she has crushing student loans or has to support family or wants to give all that money away or whatever (tons of our scenarios) that would drive one to make salary the main driver.
Good Luck
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