@Fatma Yf correct . With 0-2 years experience , hedge funds and trading in USA pays $200,000 / year gross salary . After 10 years you get $1M / year . Big tech like Google for 0-2 years pays $200,000/ year . After 10 years it may be $700,000/year. McKinsey same. Blackrock , Goldman Sachs etc same. Academia as a professor pays less eg initially its $90,000/ years and after 10 years lets say around 200,000$ but without counting for consultancy fees. Government roles pay around the same as academia . in the UK and Europe it is less but the order is the same . Switzerland is an exception as it pays a lot . Asia , Africa , Australia pay around the same as Europe depending on country , company and our expertise . The gap widens dramatically at senior levels eg a McKinsey Partner vs a Government Director is 3-5x difference UK utilities pay modestly but offer stability and pension. Academia looks lower but add £30-100k/year consulting and it competes well, plus job security. USA pays significantly more across all paths.

@Luis G by the way energy is more recession-resistant as people always need electricity. It is better than pure finance or pure tech . eg 2022-2023: Google, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft all did massive layoffs. Or , 2008 it showed entire banks can collapse. Energy gives you optionality. In good times, you can work at Citadel and earn tech/finance money. In bad times, you can move to National Grid or Ofgem and ride it out. Pure tech and pure finance people don't have that fallback , their skills are less transferable.