Comment by fatnoah

> I'd be curious how productive you felt at each position

I definitely felt "more productive" at startups since my work felt like it had a bigger impact to the company.

> and if you think the FAANG job is more difficult and stressful.

So far, it feels no more difficult and is stressful in a different way. With a startup, there's the stress of worrying about the company going under. At the FAANG, there's the stress of performing at a high enough level to justify the compensation.