If somebody told me to complete five pages of trivial arithmetic problems, I'd probably regard it as a waste of time. If they said I'd get a million dollars for

If somebody told me to complete five pages of trivial arithmetic problems, I'd probably regard it as a waste of time. If they said I'd get a million dollars for doing it (and I believed them) then it would cease to be a waste of time and become, in fact, an extraordinarily efficient use of my time. The FAANMG+ life probably isn't for everyone, but it has definite upsides, and I imagine that's why most people jump through the interview hoops. It's not because they generally value toy programs over real projects.