What should I do
TC: 240k, YoE: 13. HW Engineer, ASIC DV. Age mid-30's. I have been in the bay area for 10 years now. Spouse is a Ph.D student for the last 5 years and have 2 kids in elementary school. My biggest concern is my net worth is around 500k. Currently rent an apartment for ~3k. Most of the 500k is in cash as I have been saving for my downpayment so lost out on the stock market gains. Spouse will now mostly stay at home. Goal is to improve net worth. Should I continue renting? How is my TC right now. With current stock price, my 2022 TC will be 300k. What would I make at NVDA or AAPL with my profile in ASIC?
I think a few years ago you could have bought. Right now with a $1m home purchase (condo) with 20% down, you would pay $4800 monthly altogether with about $1400 per month going towards principal plus about monthly $167 in incremental tax benefit from interest. So roughly you will pay $1800 more per month and only get $1567 in benefit the first year. And that's not even considering what the down payment could earn in the stock market. Of course as years go by and your rent goes up and your mortgage payment stays the same this will get better but that's the back of the envelope math. Check the nyt rent vs buy calculator. It takes into account a lot more variables and will give you a much more comprehensive answer.
For financial recommendations, better talk to the professionals. 240k TC for ASIC DV is quite low. 300-350k at Apple is more reasonable.
Btw, have you looked into Google/FB? They have their own silicon team now too