[suboptimal]

I think he means the PhDs have been flogged by academia longer than the Masters, who thus retain a modicum of self-worth.

I don't know about starting salaries, but DC-area hiring is plentiful, and you should be able to hit $100k in a few years (if not sooner). Of course if you want to be under the bright lights, and not spend your career backstage, then: Go west, young man.