Tech workers come to Silicon Valley in droves with dreams of working for one of the world's biggest tech companies, like Google or Apple — or with hopes of founding their own.

Such a position entails a comfortable salary, but having a tech salary in the nation's most competitive real estate market doesn't always promise a life of luxury.

Here's what working in Silicon Valley's tech sphere really looks like.

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The dream of working for one of Silicon Valley's many tech behemoths, along with the luxuries such a six-figure salary would afford, has resulted in droves of engineering degree-toting techies coming to the Bay Area.

Though, in reality, earning a tech salary is not all it's cracked up to be.

In one of the nation's most competitive real estate markets, it can be next to impossible to find affordable living accommodations. The housing crisis has left thousands struggling and has done nothing to help the city's homelessness epidemic.

It costs $3,550 on average for a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco. That means when the average starting tech salary of $91,738 is taken into account, some techies are shelling out a good portion of their paycheck solely on rent.

And when it's time for those tech workers to buy a home, forget it: A 2018 study found that 60% of them felt they couldn't afford one.

That's all before factoring in other lofty expenses in the city, like $7 bacon strips.

From fraternity house-style "hacker houses" to sleeping in a Google parking lot, here's what a tech salary in the "Tech Capital of the World" looks like.