Professional and Career Topics

I recently noted to a friend that someone who bought a house 6 years ago could afford the same mortgage payment today plus a monthly flight to China, while someone buying that exact same house today is spending all of that money just on the mortgage. This led me to wonder if there's a growing disconnect between the salary expectations of younger engineers and the perceptions of those with more experience - notably those who owned their homes before 2020.

Curious to hear perspectives from engineers at different career stages. Have you noticed changes to salary expectations since 2020? 

I graduated in May 2020 and was not able to find a job immediately due to hiring freezes and lack of work available. when I did find a job 3 years later, I got a bump in pay, but the buying power I had was way higher in 2021-2022 than now. That's completely due to inflation and cost of living increasing. I think young engineers have an expectation of what it cost to live and that's why they ask for more money or think they should be paid more, not because they feel like they deserve it or not but just due to being able to buy a house and live the American Dream.