Not a FAANG, but a couple of "world-class" employers that pay similarly. Probably most surprising was that there were a substantial number of people that (thou

Not a FAANG, but a couple of "world-class" employers that pay similarly. Probably most surprising was that there were a substantial number of people that (though very sharp) had pretty severe personality problems. The challenges and politics of dealing with these people seemed to dominate the merely technical challenges. As a corollary, though their hiring filters were quite tight, these shops seemed to be only somewhat more productive than what you might see in a random US corporation. I would have thought it would be a day and night difference, but it wasn't. A third minor surprise: Sometimes these companies spend huge on salaries but don't provide very good working conditions (office, desk size, quiet, decent bathrooms, etc.).