FWIW I joined stripe at around 600 people and almost certainly will prove to have done much better there than at faang financially (and quality of life/work). N=1 but I expect the same is true of most people who've worked there even until recently.
My RSUs are deposited into my account every six months and I can sell and diversify them.
I’m not one of those people who keep my RSUs after they vest. I diversify over six months. I wouldn’t buy 30% of my company’s stock with cash if I were getting paid in cash , why would I keep my RSUs instead of diversify?
Of course that doesn’t mean I think the company I work for is going to disappear anytime soon.
And it's good to remember, that while RSUs are nice for the reasons you state, companies that give them out tend to pay a lower cash salary because of that, and if those stock prices go down, so does your TC, and it could be quite a big drop.
I’ll know myself in a couple of months.
I’m in my 3rd year and my first full year of base + RSUs instead of base + 2 years prorated signing bonus + back heavy vesting schedule.
(Yeah I know, how do I say where I work without saying where I work)
Also, since our division is mostly remote (even pre-Covid) and most of us are established in our career, we have much more optionality, a larger network, and hopefully a larger nest egg.