I guess my career is pretty close to optimal. I get to work on interesting problems from anywhere I want and save a ton of money. If you are an EU candidate, FAANG companies want you to relocate to some city in the UK or Ireland, which would obliterate my savings rate, and are worse places to live than most mainland EU areas. I understand not everyone is as fortunate as me, which increases their motivation to grind Leetcode and the like.