[HN Gopher] FAQ on Leaving Google
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       FAQ on Leaving Google
        
       Author : mrled
       Score  : 64 points
       Date   : 2024-01-17 22:12 UTC (47 minutes ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (social.clawhammer.net)
 (TXT) w3m dump (social.clawhammer.net)
        
       | ggambetta wrote:
       | _The conflict between "uncomfortable culture" and "golden
       | handcuffs" was becoming intolerable._
       | 
       | Amen :_(
        
         | vesinisa wrote:
         | What is he referring to here exactly?
        
           | dmoy wrote:
           | Google culture is significantly different from 10-15+ years
           | ago. Some of those differences can be uncomfortable for
           | someone used to the earlier times.
           | 
           | But also a Director is probably pulling >$1,000,000 / yr (the
           | golden handcuffs).
        
           | hiddencost wrote:
           | Imagine being paid $1-$2m a year but not liking the how the
           | culture of a company you'd been at for decades was changing.
           | Would you quit? When?
        
       | bitwize wrote:
       | _Please understand: Google is not a person._
       | 
       | Don't anthropomorphize the lawnmower...
        
         | AceJohnny2 wrote:
         | Ref: Bryan Cantrill, speaking of Larry Ellison, in the context
         | of working for Oracle after Sun got acquired:
         | 
         | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zRN7XLCRhc
         | 
         | It's a hilarious rant, starting at 34:00, and the specific
         | quote around 38:35.
        
       | nextos wrote:
       | IMHO, these senior people leaving is a good thing for them and
       | for society.
       | 
       | Most have enough savings to be able to start up something
       | interesting, fun, and that delivers a lot more societal value
       | than their current Google role.
       | 
       | Junior redundancies are more problematic, particularly in the
       | current job market.
        
         | ibejoeb wrote:
         | It's only a matter of time before there a no more remaining
         | don't-be-evil googlers. Not particularly looking forward to
         | that.
        
       | simonw wrote:
       | I knew Ben Collins-Sussman from his work on Subversion and his
       | writing and speaking about engineering management... but I had no
       | idea he'd co-composed two musicals as well!
       | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Collins-Sussman#Musical_co...
        
       | throw_pm23 wrote:
       | A nice writeup but
       | 
       | "achieving really cool things in the [..] Ads [..] divisions"?
       | 
       | Come on, no need to fool anyone now that you are free.. There's
       | nothing cool to be achieved in ads, unless you were working to
       | dismantle the entire industry from the inside.
        
         | cybrox wrote:
         | Morally? Probably not.
         | 
         | In terms of challenge and complexity? Sure!
         | 
         | It's the same thing as working in military tech. You shouldn't
         | be a huge fan of blowing people to bits but the challenges and
         | solutions are incredible.
        
       | throwitaway222 wrote:
       | Tech is simply maturing. It has had two major meltdowns at this
       | point. The first one it was still getting it's footing. The
       | second one accounts for bloat in an age where half the hiring was
       | done during a pandemic that necessitated positions that are
       | pretty much superfluous now. Zoom competitors, Virtual meetings,
       | 3d environments - all the pandemic related initiatives that
       | "brought people together" are over. We're moving back to the
       | office, we're dropping DEI, migrating things to AI.
       | 
       | This is not the end of extremely large paychecks, but it's the
       | end of potentially 30% of them.
        
       | coliveira wrote:
       | "Google is not a person"... Google lawyers will tell you
       | completely otherwise! Google is certainly a person in the
       | thinking of the US supreme court.
        
       | kagakuninja wrote:
       | Step one: dry your tears while counting your giant pile of
       | money...
        
       | sethops1 wrote:
       | Two talks given by Ben Collins-Sussman absolutely changed my
       | career path from being a hot headed programmer to thinking like a
       | professional engineer.
       | 
       | The Myth of the Genius Programmer:
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SARbwvhupQ The Art of
       | Organizational Manipulation:
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTCuYzAw31Y
       | 
       | I rewatch these every few years, or before an interview. Puts me
       | back in the right headspace.
       | 
       | If you're reading this Ben, thank you.
        
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       (page generated 2024-01-17 23:00 UTC)