Conclusion

The Valley is a magical place. A great equalizer between the haves and have-nots that has seen immigrant workers go from rags to riches and, along the way, churned out truly transformational technology. As immigrant transplants, we lived through the epic rise of the Silicon Valley and the unprecedented dominance of FAANG and FAANG-like companies. The glitz of the valley can have a very hard pull, and before you know it, you are already putting in eighty-hour work weeks. Six-packs out of undergrad slowly morph into beer bellies over company-sponsored happy hours and team lunches. The unicorn, startup, or FAANG you work for becomes your identity. Unwittingly you become an official participant of the perpetual rat-race with no finish-line.