Nice post. And nice salary too :) More on reddit.com

Government jobs tend to be paid less than corporate. A 150k ask seems entirely reasonable for what you’ve described. More on reddit.com

$300k+ starting salary if you're a PhD grad from one of the top research groups in the world, and land a gig at DeepMind, FAANG, etc etc etc. I.e you were top of your class in Stanford/Oxbridge/MIT etc and you did your PhD on some of the most revolutionary work possible. $100k-150k if you are an average scientist at an average company with a research dept. I'm not talking specific named companies, they're obviously higher. Note: I'm talking about fresh PhD grads. If you're 10+ years out of your PhD and are now a world leading scientist in ML & you're a known name, you're pulling millions upon millions. But that's because you really are one of the 21st century's most impactful individuals. More often than not, ML PhDs end up as as mid-seniority Data Scientists in some rando company doing rando computer science career things. Don't go into research if you're looking for money as a key driver, you won't have a fun time. Research rewards the heavily academically/scientifically minded, where success isn't the goal as it is with more entrepreneurial disciplines. I see you're starting your BSc in Computer Science shortly. Do your studies, learn about things that interest you, try em all out. Do a Masters after your degree if you want to consider research. By the end of your Masters you'll know if that's the avenue you want to take in life. But you're going to change a lot between now and when you graduate, so take everything as it comes. More on reddit.com

If you’re thinking of $80k ask for $100k at least. Or think of a range that would make you feel good and pick the higher number. EDIT: Just want to point out: You're not just some random junior DS they're hiring out of college. You are a proven quantity to them and you'll be able to add far more value in at least the first 6 months than someone that they don't already know. So I think it's reasonable to expect them to pay a premium for that. More on reddit.com