I spend a lot of time mentoring coding bootcampers and the number who's "dream" it is to work for Google has decreased _significantly_ in the last few years.
Google's once happy offices feel the chill of layoffs
31–40 of 103 posts
Re: Google's once happy offices feel the chill of layoffs
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
In a country with not much of a social safety net and runaway medical/elder care costs is there really another option? You need to sock away massive amounts of money as quickly as possible if you want to reduce tail risk and as a side bonus you might get to reach financial freedom earlier. My choices would be very different if I didn't think I was more or less on my own.
> In a country with not much of a social safety net and runaway medical/elder care costs is there really another option? Yes, there is really another option, because most people don't even have the option of taking Google-level compensation. Indeed, it's very likely that working as a software engineer for less than BigCo compensation will still put you ahead financially of most people. "How is it an option to live li…
The tricky part is that there's "living within your means" and there's "living within what your means could be if you made significantly less money than you do now".
You can live just fine -- hell, still be in a top income percentile -- on half of what a well compensated big tech SWE gets in their total comp package. But just as software expands to fill the hardware available, so do lifestyles expand to fit the budget available.
So you might need to move to a cheaper house, apartment. Take fewer vacations. Lower your savings rate. You might even need to -- shudder -- budget and plan your spending in advance.
Even if you come out the other side still comfortable and financially stable and working an interesting, rewarding job, it's still a whole thing, a stressful transformation that takes a large investment of time and energy to achieve.
Re: Google's once happy offices feel the chill of layoffs
#33> "From an H.R. standpoint, this is a nightmare... It completely reverses their image as a desirable employer." Good. I mentor early career and nontraditional-background engineers, and among this set, Google has acquired a certain reputation. To paraphrase, if you can just pass the interview bar, you'll find yourself in an organization where the pay is amazing, the oversight is minimal, the visa/greencard policy is g…
>> I routinely got to see people who I would never want to work with get hired there.
Can you expland on this? It doesn't really mesh with the preview sentence for me.
>>If Google becomes less of a target for barely-qualified people who want to rest and vest
It's always been my impression that people who actually manage to get a job at Google are extremely competent(so by definition - qualified) - is that not true?
Re: Google's once happy offices feel the chill of layoffs
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
> In a country with not much of a social safety net and runaway medical/elder care costs is there really another option? Yes, there is really another option, because most people don't even have the option of taking Google-level compensation. Indeed, it's very likely that working as a software engineer for less than BigCo compensation will still put you ahead financially of most people. "How is it an option to live li…
That doesn’t address the tail risk concern, and a huge number of people are living far below a comfortable level. Just because it’s possible doesn’t mean it’s reasonable or desirable.
> That doesn’t address the tail risk concern
Medicaid covers the cost of nursing homes, and it's not necessarily an advantage to have money saved just for that, because they'll just take the money anyway. Some people try to give away their assets to their families beforehand so that Medicaid will cover the costs, which is a legal no-no.
> Just because it’s possible
This is an understatement, when the subject is how 99% of the people live.
Of course it can be great to be in the top 1%, but it's not "unreasonable" to be outside the top 1%.
Re: Google's once happy offices feel the chill of layoffs
#35> "From an H.R. standpoint, this is a nightmare... It completely reverses their image as a desirable employer." Good. I mentor early career and nontraditional-background engineers, and among this set, Google has acquired a certain reputation. To paraphrase, if you can just pass the interview bar, you'll find yourself in an organization where the pay is amazing, the oversight is minimal, the visa/greencard policy is g…
> If Google becomes less of a target for barely-qualified people who want to rest and vest, I'm all for it.
Why though, do you work there?
Re: Google's once happy offices feel the chill of layoffs
#36> "From an H.R. standpoint, this is a nightmare... It completely reverses their image as a desirable employer." Good. I mentor early career and nontraditional-background engineers, and among this set, Google has acquired a certain reputation. To paraphrase, if you can just pass the interview bar, you'll find yourself in an organization where the pay is amazing, the oversight is minimal, the visa/greencard policy is g…
And I would still recommend any early career person to “grind leetcode and work for a FAANG”. The money is too good to give up.
I would also tell them to live below their means and save like crazy while they were there and to immediately sell their stock once it is vested and diversify.
FWIW: I didn’t get into BigTech until 46. It served its purpose and I have no desire to go back to any large company. But again, I’m 50.
https://news.ycombinator.com/favorites?id=scarface_74&commen...
Re: Google's once happy offices feel the chill of layoffs
#37> "From an H.R. standpoint, this is a nightmare... It completely reverses their image as a desirable employer." Good. I mentor early career and nontraditional-background engineers, and among this set, Google has acquired a certain reputation. To paraphrase, if you can just pass the interview bar, you'll find yourself in an organization where the pay is amazing, the oversight is minimal, the visa/greencard policy is g…
>> I routinely got to see people who I would never want to work with get hired there. Can you expland on this? It doesn't really mesh with the preview sentence for me. >>If Google becomes less of a target for barely-qualified people who want to rest and vest It's always been my impression that people who actually manage to get a job at Google are extremely competent(so by definition - qualified) - is that not true?
Or able to spend six months studying for coding interviews…
Re: Google's once happy offices feel the chill of layoffs
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
Be careful what you wish for: Many of those highly talented individuals will likely end up channeling their skills into areas that one could view as equally negative societally, such as hedge funds or defense contracting (like Palantir). This isn't to justify the current state of advertising, but rather to express skepticism that dismantling an industry will lead talented individuals to willingly accept a significant…
Actual defense contracting (Boeing/Lockheed, not Palantir) are hugely societally positive in defending the homeland. Unfortunately, Google engineers likely think of these companies as employing lesser people, mostly because they genuinely do pay very poorly.
Which homeland? My view of society extends beyond american borders, and it is not improved by the US drone bombing teenagers a world away.
Re: Google's once happy offices feel the chill of layoffs
#39https://archive.is/McQTl
My company started blocking archive.is but web.archive.org still works for me
https://web.archive.org/web/20240205135109/https://www.nytim...
Re: Google's once happy offices feel the chill of layoffs
#40Where are the happy offices these days? Which companies are the new “Google” who people are very eager to work for?
It's a depressing era with post-covid sugar crash, new wars, getting over inflation, job market being in the trash, etc. etc. I'd argue there are no "happy offices" as a whole, and won't be for another ~10 years until everything settles and we're on an upwards trajectory (and sugar rush) again.
Why we as a society put up with this yoyo-ing economic model will never make sense to me. Nobody likes recessions, or layoffs, yet we're all complicit with them.