Ask HN: Why shouldn't I leave Google? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Why shouldn't I leave Google?

#21

Post by googler123345 » Sun, Jun 04, 2017, 7:18 PM UTC

I am in a very similar situation.

I work at Google and am happy with the team and the product I'm on. The pay is good and my manager has been very supportive, they treat me very well, etc. but I'm just very unhappy in my life and considering moving.

I have only been at Google a short time (less than 6 months) but I'm contemplating switching to another office or just outright quitting and moving to a cheaper city for a bit.

It's hard to turn down the money. I feel like that's what's keeping me there, especially with the 1 year cliff for my first batch of equity. I'm afraid one year will roll around and I'll still be unhappy but then it will be even harder to turn down the money.

Re: Ask HN: Why shouldn't I leave Google?

#22

Post by nathantotten » Sun, Jun 04, 2017, 7:19 PM UTC

Another option, why not find a startup that you can join remotely while traveling? Unless you really want to not work for 6 months, working during the week and exploring on the weekend while living anywhere might be a nice balance. You'll get experience that will help when you find what you want to do on your own. From a life standpoint traveling for some time is a great experience. From a career standpoint, having a 6 month gap in your resume at such a young age could be an issue. I hire a lot of engineers and to be honest if I saw somebody that worked at google for 2 years and then took 6 months off to travel I would really worry about their commitment. 2 years is about the absolute minimum you should stay at one company. Moving any more often tells me, as a hiring manager, that I risk taking a bet on you, training you, and then having you leave right when you actually start adding value. Obviously, this assumes you need to get another job if your startup doesn't work, but that is unfortunately the most likely outcome.

Re: Ask HN: Why shouldn't I leave Google?

#23

Post by eleumik » Sun, Jun 04, 2017, 7:20 PM UTC

Two years is too little experience for starting something. At google or any company that invest on formation, you can still learn a lot with relatively low stress. Once you start something you wont' have much time to study and you will pay for it (at least unpaid time). I had same ideas in my late 20's but if I look now at the projects they would have been disasters ;-) I waited a little bit.

With google in c.v. you will have door open everywhere. To start something you maybe also need to give a look to how work some other (maybe smaller) companies, maybe get hired, stay some months, observe, may be leave. This is what happened to me before starting to be on my own, but those were the crazy dot com bubble years (1999).

Freedom is nice but needs a lot of work.

Re: Ask HN: Why shouldn't I leave Google?

#24

Post by minimaxir » Sun, Jun 04, 2017, 7:21 PM UTC

I recently left Apple without a job lined up after years of debating whether or not it would be a good idea. (full story: http://minimaxir.com/2017/05/leaving-apple/)

The reason you're likely afraid is that despite having some safety with savings, the future is still uncertain, no matter how much you can prepare, and even with the credibility from working at a Big 4 tech company, that doesn't mean you'll automatically succeed in future endeavors. (see also prospect theory: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prospect_theory)

Re: Ask HN: Why shouldn't I leave Google?

#25

Post by x0ner » Sun, Jun 04, 2017, 7:22 PM UTC

I wouldn't quit without a firm idea of what you want to start; leaving your current role without an idea is likely to leave you more bored and questioning your decision. Having sold a company and worked at Facebook (not Google, but a great place), I'd suggest a long travel where you disconnect and think about what you want. As others have mentioned, you're young (29 here) and have plenty of time to work it out.

Re: Ask HN: Why shouldn't I leave Google?

#26

Post by siliconc0w » Sun, Jun 04, 2017, 7:22 PM UTC

Just noting that starting a company is a huge amount of often unrewarding work and unless you have a business co-founder you're going to be doing a lot of non-SWE work which you may find frustrating. Even with a business co-founder you're likely going to be wearing a lot of non-SWE hats. It's definitely gotten easier to start a company, with all sorts of tools and services to make it easier but that is a relative term. It's still long days, constant sales (selling the idea to yourself, VCs, potential employees, etc), and dark nights wondering why you're bothering. It definitely takes some hubris engineers don't always seem to have (which isn't a bad thing).

Re: Ask HN: Why shouldn't I leave Google?

#27

Post by lobotryas » Sun, Jun 04, 2017, 7:22 PM UTC

Do you have the option to take an unpaid leave of absence for 1-2 months? This way you can travel and sort yourself out without jeopardizing your job.

But hey, you're young so go ahead and be reckless! Leave your job, blow your savings, come back to the States and see how quickly you are able to find a new job of the same caliber. You're in a very advantageous position and a reality check like that should put things into sharper relief for you.

Re: Ask HN: Why shouldn't I leave Google?

#28

Post by marcell » Sun, Jun 04, 2017, 7:22 PM UTC

I left Google to work on a couple different start ups that did not work out. It's not terrible but you miss out on the salary you would have earned had you stayed at Google.

If you want to travel and start a start up then do that. Google has a nice re-hire policy if you leave on good terms and have good perf reviews.

Re: Ask HN: Why shouldn't I leave Google?

#29

Post by vibrant » Sun, Jun 04, 2017, 7:22 PM UTC

I think you should leave tomorrow.

I'm 36, started in tech 20 years ago. And the only things I regret was working for someone too long, focusing on the wrong startups for too long (and yes, you can tell which ones are the bad ideas - mainly if they're too big and not focused).

The main driver of building your own stuff is necessity, pressure. And the main fuel is time to strategise and think. So by quitting your job you basically have all the needed tools.

And then you just need to get involved with things to find the right idea - talk to people, do things, try this, try that, until you find something that works and validate it. Watch different industries, see where tech could reinvent things. Take your time until you find something worthwhile, make sure it can be profitable in a short amount of time. And consult with people who've done it.

Re: Ask HN: Why shouldn't I leave Google?

#30

Post by throwaway-1209 » Sun, Jun 04, 2017, 7:23 PM UTC

ksikka wrote: post #15

wellpast wrote: post #5

If you have a good relationship with your employer you should be able to say "Hey I want to try something else for a while, but if things don't work out, I'd love to keep the doors open on both sides." I've done this before with a few jobs, one of which I went back to after I left and the other thing I was pursuing didn't pan out. In the time I was gone I learned a tremendous amount about myself and what's possible.…

IIRC Google is very open to internal transfers and theyou also have a 6 month grace period for you to return if you decide to leave.

There's no grace period as far as I know. That'd be stupid on their part: every keyboard jockey would immediately threaten to leave in hopes of getting a counter. Why not, if there's a "grace period"?Once you leave, there's no guarantee whatsoever that they'll want you back, even if you were doing well before you left. And that's by design.