Option 3 would probably be the best unless 1 or 2 lead to either patents or tenureship as a prof. I would suggest that you contact your school's career center and ask them for salary data on people who have graduated from the school with PhDs and gone to 1 and 2 and those without PhD's who have worked in the private industry.
If your not at school then try some of the internet websites and any contacts you might have in the field.
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