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Ask HN: I joined a FAANG and it is awful

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Re: Ask HN: I joined a FAANG and it is awful

#221

Post by smsm42 »

laurieg wrote: post #14

"staffed with below-average IQ people" I'm not sure why your co-workers' IQ is your concern. To come out of the gate with a comment like this sounds like you have a strong disdain for them. Part of your reason for joining the company was the paycheck. I assume the checks aren't bouncing. My advice is the same advice I would give to many people: Learn from your coworkers. Understand the problems that the team and the…

> I'm not sure why your co-workers' IQ is your concern

It's a concern as much as working with a smart person that can understand - and support, and improve on, and challenge if needed - your ideas is a delight and brightens your day. And working with somebody who can't get the basic things and you have to waste time on explaining the obvious and treading water instead of moving forward is a drag and makes your life hell. Of course we're not talking about IQ score on a puzzle test or something like that - I'm sure the OP talks about practical skills as seen in everyday interactions. I've been lucky to work mostly with very smart people - but occasionally there was a dud, and it's very annoying and sucks a lot of energy out.

Re: Ask HN: I joined a FAANG and it is awful

#222

Post by smsm42 »

rejectedandsad wrote: post #176
ldjkfkdsjnv wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not at all. They are not capable of building useful abstract components.

What should I do, if I have a low IQ?

Find work that speaks to your strengths, whatever they are. Some people aren't very smart but good at communications, or nice, or creative, or attentive, or can do boring tasks over and over without getting bored, or could sell snow to Norwegians in winter - there is a myriad of qualities beyond intellect, and one has to be truly exceptionally unlucky to not be good at even one (usually there are a few). The trick is finding what you're good at, and what you like to do, and if you're lucky there's intersection between the two, and if you're lucky, there's somebody somewhere willing to pay for it.

Re: Ask HN: I joined a FAANG and it is awful

#223

Post by [deleted] »

dcolkitt wrote: post #196
xeromal wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IQ is kind of a weird metric to measure people by. Do they get their shit done?

IQ is literally the strongest predictor of job performance across every category. Even stronger than years of experience in the job. This result has been replicated by industrial psychology resource again and again over decades. I get that it’s kinda rude to bluntly talk about IQ, but without a doubt intelligent colleagues make for a more effective work environment.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: I joined a FAANG and it is awful

#224

Post by smsm42 »

No advice but I've never worked for FAANG though considered it several times (yes, had offers too) but ultimately decided against it, because I suspected something like you described would await me. The money would be good but the price could be a part of my soul. Thanks for providing data to support my decision.

Re: Ask HN: I joined a FAANG and it is awful

#225

Post by smsm42 »

codegeek wrote: post #4

"A+ players solving hard problems" Is this really what people think when joining a large company such as FAANG ? I mean not everyone can be an A player in a company with 1000s of employees, correct ? Also not every team is going to be solving hard problems. Someone has to do the dirty things. Isn't that understood ? Not trying to shit on you OP but I would have tried to learn more about the team in interviews if poss…

Also not every A+ hard-problem team would be willing to recruit an unproven newbie who knows nothing about internal processes and lore and culture of the company and would require a lot of training and adjustment and handholding for a while. Why bother if they could have somebody from another team who has worked there for a while and proven themselves and knows what they need to hit the ground running?

Maybe they let the newbie to clean the dojo floor, and sweep the garden, and cut the wood, and take out the garbage, and paint the walls, and so on for a while and then he learns the ropes and knows more he could find himself a team that is more to his taste.

Re: Ask HN: I joined a FAANG and it is awful

#226

Post by smsm42 »

mooreds wrote: post #97
mattgreenrocks wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "FAANG has A+ players solving hard problems" meme is a myth that people need to believe to support idea that working at a FAANG company is guaranteed to be the apex of your career. No one motivates themselves by saying, "I'm going to do the same work I'd do with the same caliber of colleagues as I have currently." This is the tech version of the American Dream, where we're not employed by Google yet , but will be…

> But there's also plenty of smaller companies that have difficult problems with very sharp coworkers. Of course, they don't have the same prestige. Or money. Or visibility. Or value on your resume (in certain circles). But what smaller companies have that I've found big companies don't: a distinct lack of places to hide. Sure, you can get folks who don't work out (I've been one!) but at all the small companies I've…

Value in the resume cuts both ways. If somebody comes to me for an interview having a spectacular company in the list, I'd certainly be interested. But they better have some good story to tell because if it's just "oh I built an ACID webservice for internal tool for organizing meetings about when the kitchen snack supply should be replenished" I wouldn't be overly impressed and they'd better have some other skills to impress. It certainly creates some interest, but it can also create disappointment.

Re: Ask HN: I joined a FAANG and it is awful

#227

Post by smsm42 »

aynyc wrote: post #16
codegeek wrote: post #4

"A+ players solving hard problems" Is this really what people think when joining a large company such as FAANG ? I mean not everyone can be an A player in a company with 1000s of employees, correct ? Also not every team is going to be solving hard problems. Someone has to do the dirty things. Isn't that understood ? Not trying to shit on you OP but I would have tried to learn more about the team in interviews if poss…

This is what you say when asked, "Why do you want to join XXX?". Say it long enough, you internalize it and accept it. FAANG usually don't hire for a specific team, you get matched after. It's a crapshoot where you end up, but they usually let you transfer relatively easily if positions are opened.

- Why do you want to join XXX? - https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/2014-08-17

Re: Ask HN: I joined a FAANG and it is awful

#228

Post by s-lambert »

rejectedandsad wrote: post #157
ldjkfkdsjnv wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You shouldnt have to feel bad for calling people low IQ. I work at FAANG and feel the exact same way. Completely underwhelmed by the talent.

I work at the FAANG considered the “dumbest” - do you think people like me have any hope for the future?

You should feel hopeless, you're doomed to having a steady career where you are paid well.

Re: Ask HN: I joined a FAANG and it is awful

#229

Post by raydev »

proofbygazing wrote: post #162
jasondigitized wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are they better with people than you are? Does that make you dumb as well? If you were “smart” you would have figured out how to work with your leadership team to optimize a solution for all parties. But you don’t know how to, and therefore from my perspective, could also be considered “dumb”.

This comment feels like cope.

And this one feels like cope.
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