[scarface74]

How is it a “waste of time” working for a startup?

If the startup fails and he is good, he can call a few recruiters in any major metropolitan area in the US and get another job.

There is no part of me that ever wants to work for a large company. But that’s just my preference.

[Hydraulix989]

Opportunity cost.

It’s important to have grounded expectations in terms of your equity lottery ticket ever paying off. If it does, it often only brings you back to the same level of compensation you would have received at FAANG during that time.

i.e. Receiving a $1M equity payout (sounds like a lot, right?) after 5 years of hard work at below market salary at your startup annualized is equivalent to making the same amount of money guaranteed liquid and risk less at Google.

In this current bubble cycle, so far, there has only been one Facebook.

[scarface74]

I wasn't referring to taking a "below market salary" by any means. But the advice to "learn leetCode and work for a FAANG", sounds like generic advice you get from r/cscareerquestions:

Q: "I live in Omaha Nebraska with three kids and a wife. I'm a self taught developer. I've been doing PHP/WordPress sites for 5 years and I want to know what should I do to change jobs"?

A: "Learn LeetCode and move to the west coast so you can work for Google".