fishmeat

I just hit 3 years of experience exactly last month. Leading up to the milestone, I've been receiving cold dms for AI roles adjacent to what I'm working on from both FAANG, quant and start up firms. The comp range for these position is often 40-50% more than what I'm making in both cash and stock (currently I get 300k in the Bay Area.) Is now the best time for me to move?

I've been living in South Bay for work (tech/AI) and family/relative (cheap rent, lower cost of living, convenience). I want to eventually settle down and get my own house in the Bay because my family lives here but torn between living and working in SF short term vs South Bay.

SF pros:

- Bigger AI scene, younger people, more cool network and job opportunities at the frontier of AI

SF cons:

- Low WLB, 996 culture, most likely I get paid in paper money, low safety, higher cost, further from family, traffic and parking sucks, SFH prices are insane.

South Bay pros:

- Very good WLB and family first culture, a lot safer neighborhoods, still in Bay Area, decent selection of AI opportunities, lower cost, close to family.

South Bay cons:

- Less young people, further from the heart of AI, more stable Big Tech opportunities also mean slower career and network growth, traffic sucks, SFH are also pricey.

Anyone with experience in both areas can comment? Is my FOMO justified?

I've been learning C and assembly through textbooks its exercises for 4 months. I did well in exams but when I try to look at coding challenges like Project Euler, I felt like I haven't learned anything at all.

So, how long it took you to master the art? What would you have done to shorten that time?