If you know how to leverage your experience you can literally walk in as the CTO of most small startups if you are an ex-googler and don't act like a drone.

CTO of most small startups don't get paid as well as a typical moderately experienced Google engineer. And the job is a lot harder and higher stakes (which is something that some people prefer and others do not).

As someone who has worked at multiple FAANG companies, I think that is a total exaggeration. What on earth does being Engineer #56112 at Google have to do with someone's ability to be a CTO? We’re talking entirely different skill sets. What does "don't act like a drone" mean? Show me one start-up that will simply let me "walk in as the CTO". Come on!

Have you ever tested your think?

People say I think, when they really mean I feel.

And how you feel has nothing to do with how others feel.

There are startups out there that see you and feel there will be great success in hiring you in a CTO role.

They don’t know that you feel like Engineer #56112. They just see a slice of Google that they can inject into their company.

Go test your think

The top tier of these get paid _higher_ than googlers

I think that's true for sure. In fact, I know of more workplaces where when doing the hiring, previous experience with Google is a negative rather than positive, as previous ex-Google employees have introduced more problems than solutions, together with strongly holding a "better than you" attitude towards others.

Both at the same time, presumably if they're willing to leave they've been there long enough to cash in said prestige somewhere else