It took a while to get used to them (like a day or two). But I’ve been using them on keyboards for a couple of years now, and it feels strange to not have them.

They are custom angled risers I got printed. They fit between the switch and the keycap.

I’m not sure where you live, but salaries have dropped significantly here (Australia), although it would be fair to say they were back to pre-covid ranges. Two years ago, big banks were offering $250k base for a Senior Data Engineer. Currently the rate is around $170-180k.