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Three Years of Misery Inside Google, the Happiest Company in Tech

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Re: Three Years of Misery Inside Google, the Happiest Company in Tech

#151

Post by ErotemeObelus »

segmondy wrote: post #32

My eyes are hurting from seeing these articles whining about their misery while collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. Most companies have issues, and these issues are not "Company" issues but PEOPLE issues. Once you're large enough, you are going to have people with differing opinions, beliefs and values. These are going to clash. If you happen to be on the losing side and don't learn to accept it, y…

Yes it is miserable to work in Google but you're getting proportionately compensated for your misery so you can't complain of injustice.

Re: Three Years of Misery Inside Google, the Happiest Company in Tech

#152

Post by ummonk »

ggambetta wrote: post #73
chadlavi wrote: post #41

Google doesn't even pay well enough to treat people poorly. They're wagering an awful lot on the premise that working for Google is prestigious enough to sustainably attract and retain talent. Meanwhile a smaller tech startup will pay better and give you way more of a hand in shaping the product, and maybe even not work you 80+hours a week. I'm not sure what the appeal of the big names is for devs.

> Google doesn't even pay well enough to treat people poorly. [...] Meanwhile a smaller tech startup will pay better [...] maybe even not work you 80+hours a week Having worked both at Google and at smaller tech startups, this is pretty much the opposite of reality. I wonder where are you getting these ideas from.

He's right that Google doesn't generally pay competitively, but wrong in comparing to smaller startups. It's some of the larger companies (Facebook, LinkedIn, AirBnB, etc.) that Google tends to fall short of.

Re: Three Years of Misery Inside Google, the Happiest Company in Tech

#153

Post by HillaryBriss »

tantalor wrote: post #28
molteanu wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's endless and it doesn't get to the point.

What is the point?

I think the article tries to make the following case:

1. There's a ton of dissatisfaction in the Google employee base

2. It's distracting company management and hurting the company core mission (making cash)

3. It won't go away any time soon

(FWIW, I believe the case is overstated.)

Re: Three Years of Misery Inside Google, the Happiest Company in Tech

#154

Post by ummonk »

chadlavi wrote: post #90
trevyn wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A smaller tech startup only pays better if you pick the right one and it has an exit. One appeal of the big names is exactly that — name recognition. It does a lot for the ego when everyone you meet knows that your employer provides free massages and a sushi bar for lunch.

Free massages and sushi bars don't pay rent! And I'm not talking about mythical exit money, I'm talking about cold hard biweekly salary. I make more money at a small startup than it seems I would make at Google, for example.

Stock based compensation happens quarterly, which is frequent enough to be a regular stream of compensation (and you get a sign-on bonus when you start so you don't have to wait for liquidity either).

Re: Three Years of Misery Inside Google, the Happiest Company in Tech

#155

Post by mwfunk »

esoterica wrote: post #100
tnolet wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I regularly have chuckles with friends about entitled tech workers. Complaining about the type of bottled water, the gym compensation plan, the type of company laptop. It's really sad.

Why is it "entitled" to make demands of your employer if you are in a position to make demands? Do you also "chuckle" at people who try and negotiate pay raises or more vacation days?

No, but some of the things people get worked up over in the tech industry can get silly, especially the ones with less experience who see themselves as temporarily embarrassed 10Xers. It’s usually in proportion to how overly seriously they take themselves, and it’s often from manufactured conceit to cover up insecurity about other things in their lives. It’s not most people but it’s definitely a type you encounter in places like SV.

Re: Three Years of Misery Inside Google, the Happiest Company in Tech

#156

Post by jayd16 »

pcstl wrote: post #75

I find it somewhat hypocritical that this article describes Google as a safe haven of dissent and open discussion, while it is pretty unanimous that expressing even slightly right-of-center opinions at Google will have you ostracized and possibly fired.

I can't really speak from experience but almost certainly it follows that open dissent will be greeted with open dissent.

As for retaliation, that's something else.

Re: Three Years of Misery Inside Google, the Happiest Company in Tech

#157

Post by jonbronson »

andrew_ wrote: post #80

It's disappointing that the author didn't take the opportunity to choose language that didn't provide a distinct slant to the article. An objective tone would have been totally achievable and this would've been marked as a fairly good summation of a rather tumultuous few years for the giant.

Spot on. It was an otherwise very thorough retelling of the Google timeline.

Re: Three Years of Misery Inside Google, the Happiest Company in Tech

#158

Post by seren »

option_greek wrote: post #33
ryanmercer wrote: post #6

There's algae in the tube feeding the ice machine in my company's break room, multiple wet ceiling tiles all year long, signs telling us to literally not wipe our feces on the walls in the bathroom, shared desks with other shifts, a constant smell of mold and I make 35k a year, no chance of promotion at all without taking on tens of thousands of dollars of debt to get a 4-year degree in literally anything, at a rabid…

I don't understand why people are down voting you. Your post rings 100% true for a lot of folks out of silicon valley bubble.

My impression is that it is a bit not very self-aware

> I find it extremely difficult to feel any sympathy for these folks because they have it much better than I do, and extremely better than millions of people in the United States and billions of people worldwide.

If you are living in the US, and making 35k, you are in the top 1% income worldwide.

So it is a world 1 percenter complaining about not being in the US 1 percenter, and saying by extension, they do not care about people who have it better.

Applying that same theory globally, 99% of people globally should not care about this post.

Re: Three Years of Misery Inside Google, the Happiest Company in Tech

#159

Post by HillaryBriss »

kevin_b_er wrote: post #117
jey wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

puts on international hat Actually, all of you Westerners[1] are rich entitled whiners. You have consistent access to clean water that comes straight to your house, you even have a house, with insulation and carpets no less. You have a cornucopia of diverse and nutritious foods, and your social institutions will even feed you if you're poor! Not only do you have all these necessities, even your poor people have opule…

We have safe potable water for now. As public investment continues to lag we will see more Flints in the US.

California does not provide safe tap water to all residents: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/24/us/the-crisis-lurking-in-...

Re: Three Years of Misery Inside Google, the Happiest Company in Tech

#160

Post by jonbronson »

peterwwillis wrote: post #15

> To invent products like Gmail, Earth, and Translate, you need coddled geniuses free to let their minds run wild. A cute meme that people like to repeat because it 'sounds right', not really accurate. Gmail was someone's pet project, Earth was purchased, and Translate was a boring statistical analysis program for 10 years. I mean, really, how "wild" does your mind have to be to write a crappy CRUD app or design an a…

Not sure why your comment is being downvoted. It's completely accurate and welcomed counterpoint to a common misconception.
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