Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 1001 posts

Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?

#41

Post by Mikeb85 »

ThrowawayR2 wrote: post #22
jboggan wrote: post #5

If you can not only survive at Google but slack along well enough to get promoted once on "10% of your mental capacity" I'd stay right where you are. You aren't going to find a better place to earn money for equivalent effort and it sounds like you've already adapted to the ecosystem. Sounds like you need an interesting side project or just a meaningful hobby. Don't go looking for the missing sense of fulfillment you…

Terrible advice. The FAANGs are highly competitive and people are eventually going to notice that this individual is not at the average job level they should be at relative to their years at the company. That will eventually make internal transfers very difficult (yes, hiring managers do check for duds for internal transfers) and motivate their management chain to wash this person out of the company as good attrition…

Maybe they are at the average job level but just aren't feeling challenged? They did get a promotion, so they can't be that bad... Maybe they're just bored? Either way, leaving a secure, good paying job is almost always bad advice, especially without a firm plan in place..

Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?

#42

Post by pavlov »

I think you underestimate your value to the company.

“All I do is copy code from the internal codebase and patch things together until they work” — this is exactly what established tech companies mostly need from their engineers. They want people with enough CS competence to not fuck things up while patching together new solutions from the institutional code soup that everyone knows how to navigate and review.

If you can do this reliably at 10% of your capacity and don’t have ambitions of applying creative solutions with unproven tech, you’re a real asset. Don’t leave rashly unless you’re genuinely bored or frustrated.

Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?

#43

Post by rkagerer »

jboggan wrote: post #5

If you can not only survive at Google but slack along well enough to get promoted once on "10% of your mental capacity" I'd stay right where you are. You aren't going to find a better place to earn money for equivalent effort and it sounds like you've already adapted to the ecosystem. Sounds like you need an interesting side project or just a meaningful hobby. Don't go looking for the missing sense of fulfillment you…

Strong disagree! I can't believe all the advice here telling you to stay in a situation where you don't feel challenged. Clearly you wouldn't have written the post if you were content with the status quo.

Find a role you thrive in, doing work that musters your enthusiasm. Whether it's at Google or elsewhere. Yes, it means giving up the cushy freeride, but there's no substitute for the deep sense of pride and satisfaction from solving a tough problem and building something you're passionate about.

Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?

#45

Post by chrisseaton »

_y5hn wrote: post #3

Why name the company?

I think cruising along at Google is extremely different to cruising along as a minor regional tech company.

If you're at Google you're already clearly gifted and one of the leading people in your industry, and if you're cruising there then you're probably still doing absolutely stellar work.

Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?

#46

Post by flattone »

dash2 wrote: post #13

It's sad and revealing to see the other comments here. Many of them say, don't seek fulfillment in your job, just keep on cruising. What a change from the exciting atmosphere of the 2000s. Seems like software engineering has become a safe, dull career nowadays. Don't listen to them. Your 20s are the time to learn, push yourself and discover who you are. Autopilot is for middle age.

Autopilot is for middle age? That's a pretty terrible thing to say. My 20s were a total waste. Now, mature and sorta burned out on nonsense distractions, I'm on fire.

Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?

#48

Post by throwaway_googl »

I have three friends at Google who are nice, smart people, but terrible employees. All three of them seem to be doing just fine in their Google careers.

One is very smart, but he's been telling me literally for years that he has zero motivation, to the point where he sometimes won't actually start working until 6PM. He's moved around within Google trying to find something he's interested in, but it's just the same thing on a new team. I've suggested a number of times that he leave and find something that inspires him, but he's too used to the salary, perks, and lifestyle to try something new.

Another friend is very similar - nice guy, but there was a consensus at his last startup that he wasn't really accomplishing very much, and he would have been fired if he hadn't left voluntarily.

Another friend is a nice guy, but the most irresponsible person I know. He's been fired from other jobs for being unable to show up before 1PM, and he keeps making some truly irresponsible life choices (ghosting people, drugs, prostitutes).

I know this is anecdotal, but do other people have this experience with Google engineers? It seems like Google is the kind of environment where (at least if you're an SWE) you can get away with doing the minimum for a very long time.

Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?

#49

Post by jdavis703 »

It sounds like you need someone who you feel accountable to. You mentioned depression. I’m not sure if you mean clinical depression, or post-breakup blues. But either ways consider talking to a therapist [0]. If it turns out your mental health is fine, consider a career or life coach to help you meet your goals.

0: I can personally recommend TalkSpace. Fixing my anxiety and ADHD has made my work life nearly immeasurably better.

Re: Ask HN: I've been slacking off at Google for 6 years. How can I stop this?

#50

Post by goatherders »

You don't realize how good you have it:

1. you work for a company that is an excellent resume booster outside of the valley. I'm from central texas and most everyone I know in tech has worked at Dell and once complained how boring it was to work at Dell. The moment they decided to move away from Austin their Dell experience made them very hot commodities to non-Austin tech companies. Every day you stay at Google the more valuable you become.

2.you presumably make enough money to not worry about your monthly Bills and probably have enough to save as well. At age 28 you are well ahead of the vast majority of 28 year olds from the last 100 years. Not saying you should be content but still...

As others have said you have a great opportunity to do some new things, both in terms of mental and financial capacity. Nevermind learning more tech stuff...get a hobby. Try different things to make you the kind of person you've always wanted to be. Most people are not able to do that because of stress at work or stress about money. You seem to have neither.

Post reply on HN