I (mid 30s) am at the FAANG point where I optimized for compensation, but the stress of constantly having to make an impact and being subject to pressure from upper management and senior peers without being able to do much about it (“that’s why we pay you so much”) is becoming seriously damaging for my mental health.
I saved enough that I could afford the luxury of starting to optimize for work-life balance. I basically would like a job where I can do my 40 hours, be moderately engaged and keep up with new tech without excessive stress caused by large/ambiguous deliverables, and then enjoy my life outside work.
I was potentially even thinking about moving to a different career from SWE, e.g. developer advocate, solution architect, … but maybe consulting is an answer.