I never worked at a FAANG and have way less experience then you, but here's my 2 cents for whatever it's worth. If I were in your shoes making a "ridiculous" c

I never worked at a FAANG and have way less experience then you, but here's my 2 cents for whatever it's worth. If I were in your shoes making a "ridiculous" compensation, then I'd calculate how many more years you'd have to work to get to FIRE (financial independence). If you're only 2-5 years out, I'd consider just sticking it out. As far as I'm aware, nowhere outside of the FAANG pays anywhere close to $500k comp. I'm guessing most startups generally don't pay more than $250-300k, which is like a 50% paycut meaning you'll have to work at least twice as long to retire. At the same time, life is too short to be wasting it doing things you don't enjoy and being bored to tears. Just be careful of "grass is always greener" syndrome / FOMO. You might find startups to be way more work and way more demanding, and then regret having taken a steep paycut to give up a cushy job. Or maybe you'll find yourself working on projects you're much more passionate about, start your own company that goes on to be successful, and be both personally and financially better off. It's hard to say as everyone's experience will be different. I'd seriously consider the sabbatical route, and definitely wouldn't recommend quitting without a plan. The beauty of making so much money is that you can afford to hire people for your projects which you'll be doing anyways as a founder, and if things fail it doesn't matter because it's play money.