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Will you get to 90k faster by working in a prestigious office in a major city?
Perhaps, but probably only after you leave the prestigious firm and cash in on its reputation.
I have not seen significant differences in salary between New York, Dallas, Chicago, Boston, or Atlanta. I do not have much experience with California salaries.
It's more about the experience overall, and how you present yourself and network. The starchitect name can get you into the door though, especially if your experience there involved more than just some time in the model shop or 3D studio.
The Starchitect name on your CV is a massive boost to efforts to launch your own career. We still draw in new clients with the Starchitects names/projects on our CVs. However, there is Starchitect like Norman Foster and Starchitect like Tod Williams. One is well known world-wide--one is well-known in certain New York circles.
AS for making more money at Starchitects...haven't seen that. I have heard of friends being asked if they wanted to go on the 'work for free' pile or the 'paid a fee' pile--at Le Corbusier's office even. Nowadays the market is tighter.
The biggest reason to work in a Starchitect office is because you will be surrounded by very talented peers and you will get a chance to work on well-designed work. It can be an excellent education.
^Agree. In terms of getting clients, etc., however, you would typically need to have a more significant experience there than just a couple of years doing 3D renderings. It is true that many if not most of the "hot" young firms were started by talented architects who left Starchitect (or at least very reputable) offices after 5-10 years of working there as mid/senior level designers and after realizing that it would take another 10-20 years before they could ever move up in the organization. Sometimes a Starchitect will give one of his "spin off" firms their first project, just to be nice.
corporate firms like SOM or KPF typically work in small teams with each on a different project. because it is so well structured, interns typically have a good exposure to different responsibilities of a firm, including design responsibilities
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