"I applied to these companies because I was under the impression that they could be major stepping stones in my career" I think that depends on what you think

"I applied to these companies because I was under the impression that they could be major stepping stones in my career" I think that depends on what you think working at at FAANG is going to get you career-wise. Better salary most probably but beyond that who knows? You'll get a lot of recruiter interest but probably won't get any offers just because you worked at a FAANG because, guess what, pretty much every company requires you to go through their kind of assessment these days so you're basically starting over with interviews at other companies if you decide to leave.