I don't think this an issue of ego so much as wildly overestimating the difference in quality in code and practices between big name companies and smaller or le

I don't think this an issue of ego so much as wildly overestimating the difference in quality in code and practices between big name companies and smaller or lesser well known companies. I find this is a misunderstanding that many people (myself included at one point) have, especially if they come from a non-traditional path and have only worked as smaller companies. In the post he mentions that he took a lower pay and level than he expected in order to increase his skills. He was willing to learn, but made the naive mistake in thinking that big names are where the big skills are. One thing I always found interesting is if you list off all of the developers you respect the most, and then look where they work it's a pretty good mix of FAANG and small companies you've never heard of.