Hey, just wanted to say I think you have a very fair perspective here, and I'm not sure why you got downvoted (perhaps your comment was perceived as rude.) I'm

Hey, just wanted to say I think you have a very fair perspective here, and I'm not sure why you got downvoted (perhaps your comment was perceived as rude.) I'm actually not interested in working at FAANG. I don't want to live in California, I don't want the long hours, I don't want the stress, and the products and culture are not very interesting to me. The salary is pretty much the only selling point IMO. However, you make a fair point: If I _did_ want to get into one of those companies, I would need to study CS (academically or non-academically).