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Ask HN: Quitting Big Tech, what is it like?
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Re: Ask HN: Quitting Big Tech, what is it like?
#82Sounds like missing Job Satisfaction? Research into job satisfaction says those who perform 'Job Crafting'[1] at their jobs i.e. "the physical and cognitive changes individuals make in the task or relational boundaries of their work" tend to say that they are much more satisfied with their jobs.
May be jobs at FAANG have become strictly defined that job crafting is not possible anymore?
> I can't connect my work to people I care about.
May be you can take a look at Social Good startups which tend to work closely with the reasons you care about and contributing to society as part of the work is generally associated with higher job satisfaction.
Or, you just look at the problems which need solving[2] and try to solve the ones which resonate with you[3].
[1]http://justinmberg.com/wrzesniewski-lobuglio-dutto.pdf
[2]https://www.ycombinator.com/rfs/
[3]https://needgap.com (disclaimer: I built it).
Re: Ask HN: Quitting Big Tech, what is it like?
#83> I've spent the last decade in two FANG companies, and I've got to a high level where my total compensation is ridiculous. > The problem is that it bores me to tears, and I don't want to do it anymore. One of the nice things about working at a FAANG is the ease of changing teams. Most large companies have a formal process for doing that and it's not normally frowned upon unless you do it very frequently. You may fin…
Except when you get to a high level. Then, the powers-that-be have plans for you, and you can't really refuse (e.g. how do you refuse the CTO who says "I need you on this critical project?"). And there really aren't that many teams that can take you even if they wished to.
What OP _might_ be able to do is "invent" his own project. If he has something that he believes is (longer-term) for the company good, he probably can say "I'm just going to do this" instead of quitting. What are they going to do, fire him? If he was planning to leave anyway, it's not really a problem.... and one finds out that managers are not so eager to fire good engineers. He might take a hit in compensation though (bonuses/raises) especially if his plans don't pan out.
Re: Ask HN: Quitting Big Tech, what is it like?
#84Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’m sure they are differences, but I doubt any high-paying big tech job is going to be low-stress. I don’t mean necessarily working long hours, but you get the kind of work where you need to be figuring out ambiguous problems, always convincing other stakeholders, dealing with some level of drama, etc. Things that require expending a lot of energy. It’s unlikely you’d be just converting Jira tasks to code at these le…
I wouldn't call that stressful, just interesting.
It depends on the person I guess. Sometimes you're stuck with a poorly defined project that you don't believe in and there's no one to really validate your work. Leads to a feeling of meaninglessness and purposelessness and that your time and energy could be offered in a much more meaningful way.
Can happen at companies of any size.
Re: Ask HN: Quitting Big Tech, what is it like?
#85Re: Ask HN: Quitting Big Tech, what is it like?
#86Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’m sure they are differences, but I doubt any high-paying big tech job is going to be low-stress. I don’t mean necessarily working long hours, but you get the kind of work where you need to be figuring out ambiguous problems, always convincing other stakeholders, dealing with some level of drama, etc. Things that require expending a lot of energy. It’s unlikely you’d be just converting Jira tasks to code at these le…
I wouldn't call that stressful, just interesting.
You need to make decisions in a high-uncertainty environment. If you care about your work... it's much more stressful to have actual decision power than to have none and just vent with your colleagues about how bad the top-level decisions are.
Re: Ask HN: Quitting Big Tech, what is it like?
#87I’ve worked in both big tech and startups. Startups are nothing like big tech companies. The work and needs of a small company are completely different than somewhere like Google. And here’s the bad news: going to a small startup or mission-driven company probably won’t make you happy. You often have all of the same problems, with none of the support or validation from a big company. I’ve hired and worked with many w…
I don't think the only two options are big tech and chaotic startup. There are non-tech places that just want someone to add some tech to their business, for example.
Re: Ask HN: Quitting Big Tech, what is it like?
#88Along similar lines, albeit with a more international slant - I worked in California tech companies, and even was involved in building a few of the big ones, for 20 years before leaving the US in 2001 and moving to Europe.
The scene is a lot different.
I've watched European tech startups come and go - not as high frequency as those I observed in California, due to government subsidies/welfare being a much more influential aspect in Europe than in America. American startups are hungrier, and tend to fail faster - or indeed, succeed through hard work, whereas there is a decadence to the European tech sector that is truly difficult to avoid. European tech businesses prefer to have a safe and tidy lifestyle - American tech companies don't put as much emphasis on it. This has both good and bad repercussions on both sides.
I do miss the go-get'em/gung-ho nature of American tech businesses. You don't get much gung-ho in Europe, or if you do its very unusual. Conservative attitudes abound in the Euro tech scene; Americans still very much have a degree of frontier spirit you won't find elsewhere. I think this is why most big tech companies are American.
Anecdotally its my observation that Americans work much, much harder than Europeans, and tolerance for ineffective activity is very definitely different between the two spheres. American tech businesses will solve problems that will make profit - European tech companies will work harder to avoid problems, in order to save a bit more from the subsidies they apparently 'work to deserve'.
Still, European tech companies don't seem to have the identity confidence that Americans do. Americans are much, much better at creating a brand out of the ether and then adding value to it, whereas this seems to be distasteful to the Euro mindset.
I've had the opportunity to be involved in a few 'big' European startups, and those who have been successful seem to model themselves after American companies. Too often I've seen a European tech founder gain just enough success to move their asses to California - this definitely is a thing.
The American tech market seems to be a lot more resilient to the life/growth/death of smaller tech industries than in Europe, where things are homogenised by regulation and bureaucracy. Its not that American doesn't have bureaucratic impairment in the tech industry - just that Americans are far more willing to route around it as a source of damage.
I miss the California 'cottage tech' industry, but on the other hand I much, much prefer European hackerspaces.
Re: Ask HN: Quitting Big Tech, what is it like?
#89> How do I know what the source of the problem is?
You don’t like working for FANG. That seems like a totally normal sane response to me. I’d be more concerned about the people who love that corporate environment rather than those it doesn’t give meaning to. Some people like the security and routine and structure (understandable), some people like the politics (weird), but I don’t think you need to overthink this. There’s nothing wrong with you.
I think in life we need a combination of meaning and joy to be reasonably satisfied. Joy mostly comes from relationships, meaning from work and other responsibilities eg being a parent, helping other people.
Working for a big corporation puts food on the table, but it’s hard to see any meaning there. Actually, I can imagine working at old Apple or SpaceX could give you meaning. But most corporates are not driven by meaning, but by profit, which can be completely meaningless - travelling in a hundred different directions, for example. And these giants can also disconnect you from the world, like what is the impact of me writing this test suite for FANG’s internal HR system, why do I even care.
Startups provide more meaning (ok, some startups) but it’s a totally different game and I’m not sure most people are suited to them. All the good startup people I know are outliers - surprisingly they are not motivated by cash; they are prepared or enjoy to work really hard; they have diverse skill sets rather than being the best coders; they are not just fine with risk, they like it because it’s a bit of gambling and they need that.
There are many other options to consider. What if you worked in tech for a non tech company? Your skills then have a massive impact. What about an organisation like the Khan Academy rather than a business? What if you made tech your hobby not your career? Teaching, training, consulting? Working only part of the year and spending the rest volunteering in developing nations (met people who do that)?
As others have pointed out, take a break, get out of your environment, you need to see the bigger picture and remember what your really enjoy. Travel and spend time with people you love.
Re: Ask HN: Quitting Big Tech, what is it like?
#90I just spent five years in a mature startup where I could see a tangible connection with the customers and my impact on thier lives (low fee fintech for unbanked). It was laid back and family like enough to be fun but without the drama of real family. Lots of good times. Since that ended I landed in a very good job (huge Corp) with rediculous pay but I can't see any connection to any real customer and our projects ar…
Impact on customers is the thing I love as well. I just can't imagine doing a job without it.
Same reason I left my previous company. Working on internal tooling for 2 years are not for me.