[ghaff]

It seems there's also an implication that if you're not maximizing your expected income you're doing something wrong. People can make a reasonable choice to work for a smaller business (or, indeed, any type of organization) that doesn't pay the highest salaries for other reasons.

[intellectronica]

Low wage means less than you can earn for doing exactly the same thing elsewhere. Of course people often compromise on wage to do something they are particularly interested in. In the case of unpaid internships or volunteer work people forego any monetary compensation. All other things being equal, though, you should seek to maximize your income.

[ghaff]

Well, sure. If every attribute other than salary is absolutely identical, of course there's no reason to accept a lower wage. But everything else is pretty much never going to be equal when it comes to professional jobs.

[intellectronica]

Startups, or companies pretending to be startups, usually offer lower wages for doing essentially the same technical work.

[dasil003]

Even taking this as granted, everything around the work, the people, the processes, the vision will differ.