I have worked at FAANG, since the beginning of my career, and it have paid dividends(I have been very lucky). 5 years ago I would say you are crazy, and FAANG i

I have worked at FAANG, since the beginning of my career, and it have paid dividends(I have been very lucky). 5 years ago I would say you are crazy, and FAANG is the way to go, etc... Today , I couldn't agree more with you, everyone have their own needs and dreams, some people want to be a VP at FAANG, others love the startups "work hard - play hard" culture, other people prefer to bootstrap their own business, and so on... I have learned that to be happy as an SDE you just need to know what you really wants and ignore the hype, and focus on growing. There is plenty SDEs can do to make money, you can have a regular job, and have side hustles to make even more, for example.