My case was not Big Tech, but Big Telco and the problem was a bit similar, since doing anything involved a pay cut. First, I took _a long_ time off to rethink

My case was not Big Tech, but Big Telco and the problem was a bit similar, since doing anything involved a pay cut. First, I took _a long_ time off to rethink my career. I was really lucky to have the time, money, and support from my wife to do that. During my time off I discovered that beign in a "top" company for some time was more a Handicap, than something valuable for the job market because my rate was far off the market. I rejoined the salaried employee club after two failed startup attempts. I got the job because instead of sending a cv or contacting whoever, I started sending a MVP to any potential employer. I still do it now because I can discover beforehand if the job will motivate me. Suprises found: - Goverment status matters a lot. Lost one opportunity because the political situation in my contry scared the investor. - I wanted to do both sales and technical stuff. It is compicated because you need both _deep_focus_ for some tasks and react quickly for others. Balance is... interesting. - 2-3 months after I rejoined the salaried workforce, my wife told me It was the first time she saw me happy to go to work.