[semitones]

Many people at FAANGS certainly care very much about money/comp, and for many of them, it is a large part of why they choose to work at those companies. While being smart and optimizing for comp is important, I empathize with your disdain for "professional professionals" - the amount of process and structure involved, and how it is now necessary to game it, does seem like a far cry from simpler organizations that just got stuff done.