Great points being made. There are other considerations though too. One example, that there are only so many engineers at that skill level and employee churn i

Great points being made. There are other considerations though too. One example, that there are only so many engineers at that skill level and employee churn is high at FAANG companies - so paying a premium for talent makes sense since money isn't an issue and the engineers leave to go elsewhere after a brief stint getting FAANG on their resume. Higher salaries keep the recruiting funnels full, and allow FAANG companies to keep a high level of talent Another important aspect is competition. Sometimes its not just important to get talent, but also important that your competition doesn't get talent.