AFAIK, working at Google et. al. pays well, but for most people your career will cap out at senior engineer. At other big companies (banks, telecom, oil, etc) a good Google dev can climb the tech career ladder quickly and make more money, get more responsibility (if that's your thing).
Do you want to be a small fish at Google, or a big fish at Goldman Sachs?
Do you want to be a small fish at Google, or a big fish at Goldman Sachs?