I'd rather not give away too much personally identifying information, but I recently joined a company in the media production software/hardware space that has b

I'd rather not give away too much personally identifying information, but I recently joined a company in the media production software/hardware space that has been around for a couple of decades but still has a small-ish "startup-y" vibe. The culture is great, everyone is friendly and the work-life balance seems amazing so far (I have a family, so that was important to me). I'm working on tools that help creative amateurs and professionals do great work. It's not curing cancer or solving world hunger but I can go home happy with how I'm using my skills. Before that, I was in several small companies in ad-tech. I didn't feel great about the work, but the cultures were also laid back and family-friendly. Non-FAANG companies with great culture are out there; please don't settle :) Edit: if you're looking for the highest-paying jobs, you are correct in that often times, looking at a basket of job offers, FAANGs will offer the highest comp levels. If getting the highest possible compensation is your only criteria I think you are going to have a much tougher time finding compelling non-FAANG offers (though conversations with former colleagues lead me to believe that high-comp non-FAANG offers are indeed out there). I've chosen to prioritize my own happiness and time with my family over high compensation, and I can get by on the lesser (but still high in relative terms) comp offered by smaller firms.