[spoiledtechie]

Work for a government contractor. You can easily reach those numbers at a small tech firm who contracts for the government.

You can also look into tech companies that give you bonuses for work etc. That salary can be easily reached through yearly bonuses.

[malandrew]

Huh? You'd probably have to deal with the same bullshit as he has to deal with in finance.

If you really love software engineering, there is no better path to happiness at work than working somewhere where technology is the core business and not just a supporting business.

A company who does government technology contracting work's core business/competency isn't really technology, but the ability to win contracts by meeting all the requirements, knowing the right people, knowing how to work the bidding process, etc. Software engineering and tech are merely incidental.

[caw]

The government contractors will want a security clearance for that level salary though, particularly the ability to get a top secret clearance or SCI.