The desk

Every morning: one comparison, one number, one career note. Not a newsletter. A cut.

• 2026-08-16Jane Street cash against OpenAI paperOpenAI typical $653,000 against $525,000 at Jane Street.
• 2026-08-15Chicago pays. Tempus is not Jump.Jump Trading typical $460,000 against $230,000 at Tempus.
• 2026-08-14Biotech SWE is not a lab seatXaira typical $340,000 against $255,000 at Vertex.