Leaving Big Tech: Why embracing uncertainty in your 20s beats a predictable path
ZacharyHuang12 · x · 2026-08-18
kathrynwu shares reflections on leaving a big tech job, arguing that even in a prestigious, high-salary role, a predictable growth path is something to avoid in your 20s.
- Uncertainty builds muscles that predictable paths rarely do.
- Taking a role where nobody has done it before forces you to decide what actually matters.
- Hearing "no" from a customer teaches more than hitting internal KPIs.
- Pivoting after failure and meeting new people can lead to working on problems you didn't know existed.
- Even extremely smart ex-FAANG engineers can struggle if they lack this type of resilience.
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