> The claimed benefits of working for medium-sizes companies feels dubious and doesn't match real-world experience.
What benefits feel dubious? I'm curious about the real-world experience you're referring to. My real-world experience has been pretty positive, insofar as it has related to my personal goals.
> this piece is deliberately ignoring the fact that FAANG companies like Google have an overabundance of profits and engineers, leading to some of the most lax demands on individuals.
I do like the way you phrased this point a lot, but I did explicitly call this out. Perhaps it needs more emphasis, though? I said...:
> FAANGs pay absurdly well, and working at a large company is much, much slower paced than working at a startup, meaning you don’t need to work nearly as hard.
> if you at least gave a more honest take on the benefits of working for FAANG
What did I miss? I've never worked at a FAANG (have never wanted to for the reasons I outline in my article, primarily location independence).
This reads like a forced conclusion that isn't really supported by the evidence. The points about startup equity having questionable value are good, but it deliberately ignores the fact that startups are the least likely to have bureaucracy and red tape. It then goes on to criticize FAANG companies for having too much bureaucracy and red tape. It feels like cherry-picking points to support the desired conclusion.
Moreover, the criticisms against FAANG aren't really supported by the evidence. The claimed benefits of working for medium-sizes companies feels dubious and doesn't match real-world experience. It feels like this piece is deliberately ignoring the fact that FAANG companies like Google have an overabundance of profits and engineers, leading to some of the most lax demands on individuals. Moving to a medium-sized company means you might be the go-to person who is responsible for keeping a lot of things running, simply because they can't afford to hire enough other qualified engineers to fill out the team. Being desperately needed by a company is a two-edged sword. Especially if you want to go on vacation.
Frankly, this feels like it's being contrarian for the sake of feeling noteworthy or enlightening. It might be more relatable if you at least gave a more honest take on the benefits of working for FAANG or a startup and admitted that medium-sized companies aren't a panacea. As it stands, this just feels dishonest.