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Ask HN: Why shouldn't I leave Google?

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

#111

Post by mbrodersen »

kcdev wrote: post #10

I can't imagine you'll enjoy working elsewhere if you're not happy at Google. If you're an entrepreneur at heart, you'll likely not feel fulfilled until you're working on your own product. I'd say stick around Google (at least for the paycheck) as your mentor suggested until you have an execution plan. Also, if you decide to find another employer in the future, it will be more difficult to explain that you quit becau…

What on earth makes you think that Google is the best possible place to work? People leave Google all the time pursuing something better.

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

#112

Post by slackingoff2017 »

aianus wrote: post #101
slackingoff2017 wrote: post #43

Your first ever job is at Google? At 24? And no loan debt? How is that even possible. Not to be a dick, but honestly it sounds like your family is wealthy enough that you can do whatever you want.

> Your first ever job is at Google? At 24? And no loan debt? How is that even possible. You go to school in Canada ($10k/year tuition) and do internships in the US ($8k/month salary). Not uncommon at all and doesn't require any family money.

I got paid 15 an hour for both of my coding internships. $8k a month is more than I make as a full time dev in the US with an advanced degree.

In fact I've known hundreds of engineers over the years and none of them got paid that much for an internship.

Maybe you know some really lucky people, either rich or in the top 0.1% of intelligence. What you're describing and the setting OP is in are extremely unusual situations. Complaining about working at Google for your first job and having enough money to not work for years is like complaining that your private jet is too small.

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

#113

Post by chrismcb »

throwaway-1209 wrote: post #73
posguy wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are they being properly compensated for their time? By that, I mean is the employee being directly compensated for all of the non-work hours the company is claiming ownership of ideas over? Otherwise, if its a classic "Here is a salary and package, we own all your relevant ideas from here on" deal, I'd say that is highly unethical behavior on the company's part, and is a case of wage theft. Should the employee be bar…

If you don't like compensation the door is open, you can leave. Look, I agree with you in principle, but I'm now a large shareholder in a business, so I see the other side of the argument too. The goal isn't really to stop anyone from pursuing something unrelated, an idea that's mostly theirs. The goal is to avoid Levandovsky-style backstabbing. Especially for small companies, this can be fatal.

The problem is the employee can't really leave, because everyone else users a similar contact. But what exactly is the other side of the argument? The one that says "we don't really want to stop you from pursuing something unrelated, but we are going to make you sign it over to us anyways "

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

#114

Post by chrismcb »

My suggestion. Forget the startup for the moment (unless you already have an idea) plan a 6 month trip to Asia. Take some time planning it, figure out the best time to go. Then quit shortly before you go. When you get back take some more time off, work on your own project, or some open source. Our maybe you came up with an idea. Then go back to Google, or somewhere else. The thing is you are young enough to stop also be able to get a job. And who knows, maybe you will find a better one.

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

#115

Post by falsedan »

throwaway-1209 wrote: post #91
falsedan wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a manager, I would listen to the IC's request, say "I'll see what options are available, let's come back to this next week in out 1-to-1", and then go to my boss to see how much time we can offer/how to implement a vesting holiday. If the options are: lose someone for 6 months, or lose someone completely; I'd push strongly for the former.

You're a better manager than any of the ones I had at Google. That said, your boss might laugh _you_ out of the room, bringing us back to square one. He/she doesn't cherish the idea of hiring a replacement for the duration, or scaling back what he/she promised to _his/her_ boss (whew, those gender pronouns make it a mouthful). It's one thing if you need to care for a sick relative or something, any tech company will…

> That said, your boss might laugh _you_ out of the room, bringing us back to square one.

That's been my experience as well, but I did manage to get that dev 3 months (up from 6 weeks).

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

#116

Post by dennisgorelik »

swimorsinka wrote: post #41

Yikes, you're giving me déjà vu. I did exactly what you're thinking of doing when I turned 25. Google was my first job out of school, and I worked there for 3 years. I also had a mentor at the time who was encouraging me to stick around. I went off and did my own startup for 2.5 years, and then wound up crawling back to corporate America. I believed in 'following my passion' when I left, and I definitely wasn't findi…

> building automated tools to serve legal requests for Google+

That is a narrow AI development. Why weren't you excited?

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

#117

Post by dennisgorelik »

mythrwy wrote: post #61

From an old guy. Stay just a little a bit longer. Another year or maybe two. Don't stay 10. Stack up a little more cash, get a better plan. Don't go away from something. Go towards something.

> Don't go away from something. Go towards something.

Exactly.

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

#118

Post by aianus »

slackingoff2017 wrote: post #112
aianus wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Your first ever job is at Google? At 24? And no loan debt? How is that even possible. You go to school in Canada ($10k/year tuition) and do internships in the US ($8k/month salary). Not uncommon at all and doesn't require any family money.

I got paid 15 an hour for both of my coding internships. $8k a month is more than I make as a full time dev in the US with an advanced degree. In fact I've known hundreds of engineers over the years and none of them got paid that much for an internship. Maybe you know some really lucky people, either rich or in the top 0.1% of intelligence. What you're describing and the setting OP is in are extremely unusual situati…

Lowest I've ever heard of is $4k a month for an internship in the SF Bay Area. $8k is the highest I took home but all my US internships were over $6500. This was throughout 2011-2013.

If you're making less than $8k/month as a full time dev in the US you're either in a very low CoL location or you really need to switch jobs.

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

#119

Post by shortoncash »

I'm of the opinion that traveling the world isn't what it's cracked up to be. I traveled a bit, and outside of those brief fleeting moments where I witness something as breathtaking as the Great Wall of China, most of it was the same monotony as working on an exciting software project. That is, the traveling equivalent of mostly fixing bug tickets until the software equivalent of the Great Wall comes along.

These days I just watch other people on YouTube travel to exotic places and condense most of their lives down to the 4 minutes that's exciting.

So, in essence, there's a non-zero chance that traveling the world will not be much better than being at Google. On the flip side, if you do start the beginning of your startup idea in SE Asia, you'll have the benefit of a long runway since the cost of living is very low. But, if you're working on your idea there, it wouldn't be "traveling."

Just remember, the grass is always greener on the other side.

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

#120

Post by iSloth »

There is a lot of unknowns - At the moment you're working somewhere which is easily considered one of the best places in the world to work, maybe you feel different, but the global perception and aurora will likely still influence you in some way.

Not only are you considering leaving this, but it would be to stat up a new any untested company which you are ultimately responsible for.

I'm not saying your job at Google is 'easy', however it's clearly going to be an easier and more comfortable paycheck.

Following what others have said, you should probably come up with your startup idea, and try validate with some kind of MVP before taking the plunge and leaving.

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