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How is giving people $500k to what on what ever they want "exploitation"?

>spent enriching themselves in FAANG

This is some serious tunnel vision nor everyone works at a FAANG. And it is not possible for everyone to work there. Especially if your out of the United States.

Also, the FAANGs with lucrative jobs would not exist if everyone took the "average" route of Job security with high probability of success.

I have worked on two failed startups so far and had a "real job".

I vastly find working on a startup more exciting (even with worse pay & more volatile prospects) than being a cog is some large prestigious corporate machine where your ideas pretty much don't matter.