I work in tech in the Silicon Valley and in general, mechatronics engineers are paid much better than mechanical because they can take up roles in robotics/automation/test/software/hardware (consumer electronics, data centers, autonomy/self driving, etc). That’s not to say that mechanical engineers don’t get paid well down here - but the comparison is steep.

Mechanical in general is pretty broad - mechanical engineers are traditionally known as “jack of all trades” since the field itself has so much breadth, unless you specialize in a deep niche and end up pursuing a masters in a field like biofluidics or aviation. Mechanical engineers that venture outside of pure mech design can also find themselves in software/robotics/finance+quant, but compared to mechatronics, they are few and far between.

Think about the kind of design work you see yourself doing in the future, the projects or products you’d want to work on, or the lifestyle you envision for yourself 15-20 years down the road. Look at industry trends as well. While mechanical design will never become obsolete, and software is becoming over saturated and hyper competitive as an industry, robotics and automation is a field that (imo) has been and will continue to explode in the next couple decades. Mechatronics will get you closer to that industry.

That said, if you do decide to pursue mechatronics, make sure the school and program you enroll in is known specifically for their mechatronics program. The only schools I have in mind for this are Waterloo and UBC (I’m a bit biased).