I could do that and then go work at the Costco food court. Somehow that doesn't feel any less like larping.

On a serious note, how does one do that? It doesn't "feel" that way, but I know that's lifestyle inflation.

If you are able to get a job at a FAANG, you should also be able to take a look at your expenditures and determine what you actually need in life. Maybe getting a smaller living place will be the stumbling block for most, but think of the freedom you gain. If you find yourself fantasizing about working in Costco during your daily life, chances are the things you spend on aren't that effective at bringing you satisfaction anyway. Yet unlike the vast majority of people you actually have the means to escape and build the life you want i.e. a massively well remunerated job with remote working options. So why not do it?

I once took a "down shift" job and it didn't work well.

After only a few days I started seeing inefficiencies, some people slacking like crazy while others had to work for two, management that was really incompetent and could not be convinced to improve anything.

I mean, people were nice and everything and I enjoyed the social aspects of the job, but I learned that I was too competitive to function in a less demanding job

Inefficient for the company maybe, but if you are not going to be paid more for extra work or diligence, and the work you are doing is not particularly meaningful or helpful to others (could be wrong as I don't know what we're talking about) why would you work hard unless you are larping?

That's what I thought too, but then the stock price imploded.

If you are paid these absurd 250K+ salaries that does not matter. And it's not like the stock is at zero either

How?

It'll depend on your personal factors, but the median salary at FAANGs is nuts at $220-250k. Let's say you are an average FAANG person in Washington state and are paid a bit less than the median with 200K as your starting point. That's probably going to be in the 150K take home range. Save 70% of that at $105K your first year, and it only speeds up from there since the salaries reach 300k-400K in just a few years. This is just the raw salary, and if you take into account all the FAANG perks, generous healthcare package, stocks, social capital, connections, even the free food, etc. it just snowballs like crazy unless your priorities revolve around conspicuous consumption.

Based on the 4% rule, you can then determine how much you need to retire, sell your house (because you'll have a mortgage instead of rent at those salaries) bounce to a lower COL area and then enjoy the rest of your life. You don't even need to stop working if you don't want to, but can downshift to part time and earn much more than the median full-time salary. If you are a SWE you'll have offers, many of them remote.