111–120 of 1001 posts
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One promotion means he is L4 minimum, which is now the level which Google no longer requires you to move up. As long as he is getting "meets expectations" with the occasional "exceeds" every three cycles or so, he will be able to coast at the big G for a long time.
Sure but how do you do that without becoming depressed or very angry? I know a few people who can.
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 th…
Google is like an ivy league school: the hard part is getting in.
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Yea but that could take many months to years to happen. Keep milking it. They'll have a good financial cushion to find something else afterwards.
I won't say that's not a valid choice (I've seen it done) but if it comes down to that, the tarnished reputation is probably going to hurt them more than the money they get. This industry is not all that large at the FAANG level and the people who succeed or at least do moderately well at a FAANG tend to go on to senior positions at other companies. This person probably does not want a bunch of former co-workers arou…
They are simply asking for what they should be learning in order to be competitive in the job market.
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 satisfac…
Finding a job that is challenging and mentally stimulating is very difficult. I know a number of people who echo this sentiment.
Have you figured out if it's Google or software engineering as a whole? I think the safer option, if it's available for you, is to change to a different team in a different part of Google. Google is huge and if, for example, ads is boring to you, try Google Brain or any of their X projects (self driving cars?). That way you have more data points around what's causing you to slack. It's not necessarily the case that w…
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I won't say that's not a valid choice (I've seen it done) but if it comes down to that, the tarnished reputation is probably going to hurt them more than the money they get. This industry is not all that large at the FAANG level and the people who succeed or at least do moderately well at a FAANG tend to go on to senior positions at other companies. This person probably does not want a bunch of former co-workers arou…
Nothing about the OP's provided context suggests they have 'depression problems', are getting negative feedback, or are about to wash out from Google. They are simply asking for what they should be learning in order to be competitive in the job market.
Really? "...(the rest was on dating/dealing with breakups/dealing with depression/gaming/...)..."
> "... are getting negative feedback, or are about to wash out from Google."
Those are the long-term consequences of his current state, as I stated quite clearly.
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 th…
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I suppose this depends on whether you prefer to live to work or work to live. When I was younger I lived to work. Now I work to live. I've taken up backpacking, woodworking, and put a greater emphasis on my family life. If anyone is on the fence here, I definitely recommend working to live. If you can avoid misery at work, you're a lucky person, so do that if you can. But at the end of your life the odds you'll be mo…
This person is in the early stage of their career. Building the skills, network, and reputation necessary to carry them through the rest of their career while they are young and energetic _is_ working to live, particularly at a FAANG. Nobody wants to become a 50 year old with the skills and experience of a 30-year old.
Can you start 1. Consulting on the side? Surely you being G employee will open lots of doors. 2. Side project/your own startup . I think you are getting a great value for 10% of your capacity. I would just keep milking it till you get something on side get started. PS: I don't think 'deeply learn the FE/BE technologies' is good investment of time.
I'm guessing Google has a very wide-ranging non-compete and/or IP ownership agreement that'd keep him from doing this. He works for Google, and I bet Google would say "we own your work, all of it".