I hear the “pay folks for their time” thing a lot, and have even done it. But for a senior engineer / architect level role, how is $100/hr meaningful in your mind? Just as a show of good faith? If you’re senior (and hence have been in this market the last 10 years) $100/hr wouldn’t seem to move the needle.
US startup folks seem to think they should work quite a bit harder in terms of time and more importantly in terms of intensity. EU folks seem to think the intensity should be lower.
My limited experience suggests intensity loosely correlates with success, but is dominated by chance.
In my experience EU (particularly NL/FR/DE) engineers have a very different understanding of the level of effort work should entail, and general work/life balance. Perhaps it has something to do with the different level of social “safety net” or just chalk it up to culture.
(Super useful comment huh?)