What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft • Hacker News Board

Re: What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

#11

Post by devinmcafee » Sat, May 11, 2019, 9:54 PM UTC

I think many young people in tech learn this lesson the hard way. They get excited with all the free food, laundry services, and events that tech jobs offer. They end up spending all of their waking hours at work and work becomes an identity. Then one day something changes and they realize they spent the last N years of their life at work, not building real lasting relationships, pursuing hobbies, dating, etc. It truly is a cautionary tale and startups and big companies alike want their employees to drink the Kool Aid.

Personally, I love all the perks tech jobs offer but work-life balance always comes first.

Re: What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

#12

Post by PorterDuff » Sat, May 11, 2019, 9:55 PM UTC

Lots of fuss and fury about what is basically just another large company. They're not your friends and never will be. Dunno why there's so much surprise here, I guess it's just another youngster hitting the immovable object of the working world.

A friend of mine who went and got a job at Microsoft (a rarity in my circle, they don't seem to be heavyweights in the graphics or video world) and made a smart move. His deal was they he got the job but that he didn't go through any kind of interview rigmarole. The gig didn't last forever but at least someone was spared a bit of craziness.

Re: What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

#13

Post by TravHatesMe » Sat, May 11, 2019, 9:58 PM UTC

itronitron wrote: post #7

stevebmark wrote: post #4

I'm not sure what the takeaways are from this article, if anything concrete. It sounds sad and frustrating that some supposed friends inside the company didn't say goodbye when she was let go, but I guess I don't see that as surprising or noteworthy at a large company. Maybe there's a warning sign to not go all-in on a company, but she doesn't sound remorseful for having done it? I hope she finds satisfying and balan…

It's a cautionary tale, don't get too excited and in love with your job or company.

Am I not jaded enough to believe this? "in love" is perhaps extreme but I have made meaningful and lasting friendships by being "excited" about my job, moreover earned people's respect by having a positive attitude.

Re: What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

#14

Post by jsbaby608 » Sat, May 11, 2019, 10:02 PM UTC

Kinrany wrote: post #5

lostmsu wrote: post #3

Not sure I understand this rant. There is so much water, and no specific examples. Nor does it explain why did she have to work overtime. I used to work for Microsoft too, and you have to be really narrow-minded to think, that your experience can be extrapolated to a company of 100,000+

She acknowledges that not all teams are the same: > P.S. I know there are teams at Microsoft that are different (shout out to VS Code engineering team!), but I just wasn’t lucky enough to work at one ;)

This last part confuses me. She admits she lacks in technical experience. Why would she ever work on the VSCode team?

She also mentions that many people at the company didn't respect her position in the beginning. I wouldn't either. Shes paid to party and network and doesn't seem to have any of the technical knowlege to work at a very technical company.

Re: What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

#15

Post by ljiljana » Sat, May 11, 2019, 10:08 PM UTC

> A few guys working both for Microsoft and Partners were treating me like a cute puppy or telling me they wanted to have sex with me while drunk, but all of it seemed minor and acceptable — I was getting so much in return.

jesus, how is this minor and acceptable? i'm a woman in engineering and I can not even imagine having to deal with something like this. Is it that Marketing is that much different? Or am I just lucky to be working with human beings?

Re: What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

#16

Post by maximus1983 » Sat, May 11, 2019, 10:21 PM UTC

This sounds like I was like about 10 years ago. Wrapped up in a company. I don't do "work friends" anymore.

Re: What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

#17

Post by Waterluvian » Sat, May 11, 2019, 10:24 PM UTC

devinmcafee wrote: post #11

I think many young people in tech learn this lesson the hard way. They get excited with all the free food, laundry services, and events that tech jobs offer. They end up spending all of their waking hours at work and work becomes an identity. Then one day something changes and they realize they spent the last N years of their life at work, not building real lasting relationships, pursuing hobbies, dating, etc. It tru…

I learned this a few years into my career and made major changes to adjust it. I've never felt happier and more fulfilled than this last year where my job is a sideshow and my focus and best hours of the day are spent with my family.

Re: What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

#18

Post by zelpo » Sat, May 11, 2019, 10:26 PM UTC

One day i would like to work at microsoft. I would like to make some much needed improvements to both FreeCell and Cardfile

Re: What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

#19

Post by neilv » Sat, May 11, 2019, 10:29 PM UTC

devinmcafee wrote: post #11

I think many young people in tech learn this lesson the hard way. They get excited with all the free food, laundry services, and events that tech jobs offer. They end up spending all of their waking hours at work and work becomes an identity. Then one day something changes and they realize they spent the last N years of their life at work, not building real lasting relationships, pursuing hobbies, dating, etc. It tru…

Shortchanging non-work life for several years is not specific to "tech". The ~30yo dating pool in Boston was a wealth of people who'd been focused on grad school, med school/residency, and making partner in a law firm. Many people consider career focus a good investment, in those fields. (Though many manage to do both, and some others try but fail to do both.)

Re: What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

#20

Post by stevenwoo » Sat, May 11, 2019, 10:41 PM UTC

ljiljana wrote: post #15

> A few guys working both for Microsoft and Partners were treating me like a cute puppy or telling me they wanted to have sex with me while drunk, but all of it seemed minor and acceptable — I was getting so much in return. jesus, how is this minor and acceptable? i'm a woman in engineering and I can not even imagine having to deal with something like this. Is it that Marketing is that much different? Or am I just lu…

I'm only surprised it was happening at a long established company like Microsoft because of the legal ramifications in the United States (it's not totally clear from the blog post where all of these infractions were happening) - IMHO the news stories about Google's dealings with Drummond and Rubin sound worse because they had a lot more power in the organization.