When does it make sense to leave big tech?

First, I heavily recommend the following resources:

• "How do I know when it's time to leave a team/company?"
• [Masterclass] How To Choose A Good Company And Team As A Software Engineer

Going from Big Tech -> startup is one of the most common career moves among talented, driven engineers and the primary motivators are usually a desire for:

• Higher impact
• Deeper learning
• More excitement

FAANG-like companies are great and all, especially for compensation, but the simple reality is that it's far too easy to hit a scope and growth wall in companies so large. We cover this more in our in-depth discussion here: "What's the difference between Big Tech and startups in terms of learning and growth?"

I see driven, career-focused individuals moving out of FAANG-like companies to start-ups and non-FAANG companies, so I'm curious: what drives people to do so? When is this the right career move?

In a nutshell, it's generally when you don't value compensation as much anymore and you're hitting diminishing returns on your growth staying at these massive companies.

My advice for you on how to figure out if and when this is the case for you is: Listen to your gut. Trust me, when you feel like things aren't so rosy in your cushy FAANG job anymore, your gut will tell you. 😉

A few common reasons people leave Big Tech:

• After working a few years, they built up the financial cushion to allow them to take a bigger risk.
• The startup is more aligned with what they care about.
• The new opportunity has people they are excited to work with (perhaps work with again).
• They want to collect more brands/names on their resume. There is a lot of value in having experience across multiple types of companies and environments -- for many hiring managers, this makes you more employable.