RSUs are trickier than that if you work at a non-public company (e.g. a startup). For example, they actually do typically expire if the company doesn't have a l

RSUs are trickier than that if you work at a non-public company (e.g. a startup). For example, they actually do typically expire if the company doesn't have a liquidity event within a certain timeframe -- and unlike options, if the expiration date comes up you have no recourse; with an option, you can at least exercise it, at which point it becomes common stock and you own it outright. As a personal example, I previously worked at Airbnb and had a mixture of options and RSUs. Some of my RSUs were only months away from their expiration date when the company went public; if anything had delayed the IPO much longer, they would have disappeared. With the options, I could have bought them and prevented them from disappearing even had the company not gone public. As a result, leading up to the IPO I was moderately worried about my RSUs, but not particularly worried about my options. FWIW, you're probably thinking about ISOs ("incentive stock options") when you refer to the "punishing exercise-or-lose-them requirements;" companies can also offer NQSOs ("non-qualified stock options"), which are less tax-advantaged but can offer long exercise timeframes even after you leave the company. A lot of the "unicorn" startups, including Airbnb, allowed ISO holders to convert to NQSOs for that reason. Options vs RSUs is a tricky subject and the ideal choice varies based on circumstance.