FAANG equity - like RSUs at any other stable public company - is almost as reliable as getting paid in cash. There is some risk, as with all market-based compen

FAANG equity - like RSUs at any other stable public company - is almost as reliable as getting paid in cash. There is some risk, as with all market-based compensation, but the risk of $FB or $APPL going down by a few percent in a bad year is nothing like the risk of a startup being worthless, or the risk that strange fine print or tax trreatment makes your private equity end up literally worthless (or worse) even if the company succeeds. The most important thing is that, with public equity, you can tell when it's happening. If you work for a public company and the stock price goes down, that's public information, and you can readjust your valuation of your future compensation and react accordingly. If you're getting paid in funny-money private options, that doesn't work for two reasons. First, the value of your future compensation can change without your knowledge (e.g., with the introduction of preferred investor classes). Second, the value of past compensation can effectively change post-facto if you're forced to hold options for a significant amount of time.