> they most likely grinded the fuck out of leetcode and system design to get in
While I definitely agree with your assessment regarding laziness (I don't think I know or have worked with anyone at or from a FAANG that I would describe as "lazy") my experience is that grinding leetcode and systems design is entirely independent from "can actually write complex code and design real world systems".
In the dotcom shadow actually knowing how to get your hands dirty and solve real world problems that might not be sexy or at "Google scale" was the essential differentiator for candidates.
That change won't happen over night though, and I do also suspect you are correct that many of these people will have no trouble finding new jobs. They will have trouble finding the same TC.
While I definitely agree with your assessment regarding laziness (I don't think I know or have worked with anyone at or from a FAANG that I would describe as "lazy") my experience is that grinding leetcode and systems design is entirely independent from "can actually write complex code and design real world systems".
In the dotcom shadow actually knowing how to get your hands dirty and solve real world problems that might not be sexy or at "Google scale" was the essential differentiator for candidates.
That change won't happen over night though, and I do also suspect you are correct that many of these people will have no trouble finding new jobs. They will have trouble finding the same TC.