Lead Developer salaries in New Zealand

I am a computer science student and for the past three years I was working for a tech startup. I left the job due to difficulties in getting paid and now I have the mission to get internships or client work. However, being from Africa, I am having a hard time finding clients or even finding internships. Generally, it is possible in this era and time to find remote work as an intern or junior software engineer?

I'm a Senior Full Stack Engineer with over 8 years of experience building scalable web applications using Python, JavaScript, and cloud technologies. I enjoy solving complex problems, learning new technologies, and working closely with teams to deliver high-quality products. Recently, I've been especially interested in AI and LLM integrations, and I'm excited about opportunities where I can continue growing while making a meaningful impact.

Friend makes $230K base, $75K/yr equity 4 year cliff (but with refreshers), and $35K/yr company+individual performance bonus (340K TC) working as a SWE in tech. He's in his early 30s and works around 30-35 hours a week (but is on call once a quarter, where he will work/be on standby for 50-55 hours for that week). He thinks his lifetime salary ceiling is around $500K, and is thinking of pivoting to law to break that cap (partner ambitions). Should he pivot?

I am a Software Engineer seeking an AI/ML Internship or Entry-Level AI Engineer position where I can learn, contribute, and grow my skills in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. My AI learning journey includes: • Completed the Deep Learning and Neural Networks course by Andrew Ng. • Studied the book "Understanding Deep Learning" (2023 edition). • Currently following Andrej Karpathy's "Neural Networks: Zero to Hero" series.