I Quit: What really goes on at Apple • Hacker News Board

Re: I Quit: What really goes on at Apple

#31

Post by noddingham » Wed, Apr 08, 2015, 7:48 PM UTC

FD3SA wrote: post #7

Another perfect data point to add to Michael O`Church`s excellent series on the politics and psychology of the modern corporation. For you starry eyed youngsters, just remember that this is Apple, the world`s most profitable company. It only gets worse as you go down the list. Work for yourself. Consulting, the trades and any type of work you can do independently is far superior to dealing with wannabe Machiavellians…

Whoa whoa. Consulting isn't the answer. There are plenty of opportunities in both private and public sector on awesome teams with amazing management.

Re: I Quit: What really goes on at Apple

#32

Post by vdnkh » Wed, Apr 08, 2015, 7:48 PM UTC

nostrademons wrote: post #14

One of my friends used to work at Apple. After one particular grueling stint of 14+ hour days, management decided to give them a thank-you. In the form of vouchers. For frozen dinners. Meanwhile, all of his friends worked for Google, we got gourmet food every meal of the week as a standard perk, and we were usually home by 8 or 9 PM rather than midnight. It's sorta like "Your 'thank you' is really more like a giant '…

>Usually home by 8 or 9pm

I assume they got into work at 8 or 9am? That's terrible. I'm really glad that I work a standard 8 hour day at my small no-name company.

Re: I Quit: What really goes on at Apple

#33

Post by gscott » Wed, Apr 08, 2015, 7:49 PM UTC

From reading about Apple I have the feeling innovation comes from the top (or from small special teams) and the rest of the organization is about pulling that innovation together. Which would make endless meetings make sense because instead of innovation you just need organization to push the innovation made by a tiny fraction of the company forward.

The positive is just having Apple on your resume you will make landing a job anywhere easier. So the torture is more then worth it.

Re: I Quit: What really goes on at Apple

#34

Post by yulaow » Wed, Apr 08, 2015, 7:51 PM UTC

kelukelugames wrote: post #15

I was interested in working at Apple so I messaged a few of my alum friends. All of them said they worked around 60 hours a week. Nope, can't pay me enough to work 60 hours a week.

The irony is that, if I remember correctly for what I read in the book about the biography of Steve Jobs, in the very old apple of Jobs and the Lisa, the team leaded by Jobs was working 120 hours/week and even making t-shirt to brag about it.

Re: I Quit: What really goes on at Apple

#35

Post by nostrademons » Wed, Apr 08, 2015, 7:52 PM UTC

vdnkh wrote: post #32

nostrademons wrote: post #14

One of my friends used to work at Apple. After one particular grueling stint of 14+ hour days, management decided to give them a thank-you. In the form of vouchers. For frozen dinners. Meanwhile, all of his friends worked for Google, we got gourmet food every meal of the week as a standard perk, and we were usually home by 8 or 9 PM rather than midnight. It's sorta like "Your 'thank you' is really more like a giant '…

>Usually home by 8 or 9pm I assume they got into work at 8 or 9am? That's terrible. I'm really glad that I work a standard 8 hour day at my small no-name company.

More like 10 or 11. Most of my friends are late-risers (perhaps because I'm a late-riser), and Google doesn't have set hours. People have been known to roll into work around 2:30 PM as long as they get their work done.

Re: I Quit: What really goes on at Apple

#36

Post by ctdonath » Wed, Apr 08, 2015, 7:52 PM UTC

mhurron wrote: post #2

That's a lot of words to say Apple is a corporation and acts like many others. I guess the author expected it to be like an iPod commercial when he started.

Agreed. Sounds like it acts like many (not all!) others.

I've worked at a lot of places. I've been told that open-heart surgery would be counted as a vacation day. I've been in 3-hour meetings where a dozen executives bickered the whole time over how one toggle should be labeled. I've been where fully half the employees had been fired and continued working on the sheer grace/need of the owner. I've been given hard deadlines to complete hundreds of pages of documentation nobody would ever read. Etc...and plenty of people on HN have their own equivalent stories. Apple is a big company, and can't keep everything pristine and orderly, and still has to meet massive big-budget deadlines by every means necessary.

The kicker: Apple gets results. One way or another, that system works; one company does not have one product take over fully half of an entire major electronics market unless they're doing something right.

Re: I Quit: What really goes on at Apple

#37

Post by sdab » Wed, Apr 08, 2015, 7:52 PM UTC

vdnkh wrote: post #32

nostrademons wrote: post #14

One of my friends used to work at Apple. After one particular grueling stint of 14+ hour days, management decided to give them a thank-you. In the form of vouchers. For frozen dinners. Meanwhile, all of his friends worked for Google, we got gourmet food every meal of the week as a standard perk, and we were usually home by 8 or 9 PM rather than midnight. It's sorta like "Your 'thank you' is really more like a giant '…

>Usually home by 8 or 9pm I assume they got into work at 8 or 9am? That's terrible. I'm really glad that I work a standard 8 hour day at my small no-name company.

When I worked there, it was 12pm-8pm. My friends who work there now do the same.

We just get to make our own hours and being in my twenties, I like sleeping in.

Re: I Quit: What really goes on at Apple

#38

Post by joezydeco » Wed, Apr 08, 2015, 7:53 PM UTC

yulaow wrote: post #34

kelukelugames wrote: post #15

I was interested in working at Apple so I messaged a few of my alum friends. All of them said they worked around 60 hours a week. Nope, can't pay me enough to work 60 hours a week.

The irony is that, if I remember correctly for what I read in the book about the biography of Steve Jobs, in the very old apple of Jobs and the Lisa, the team leaded by Jobs was working 120 hours/week and even making t-shirt to brag about it.

It was 90 hours.

http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?story=90_Hours_A_Week_A...

Re: I Quit: What really goes on at Apple

#39

Post by detaro » Wed, Apr 08, 2015, 7:53 PM UTC

FD3SA wrote: post #7

Another perfect data point to add to Michael O`Church`s excellent series on the politics and psychology of the modern corporation. For you starry eyed youngsters, just remember that this is Apple, the world`s most profitable company. It only gets worse as you go down the list. Work for yourself. Consulting, the trades and any type of work you can do independently is far superior to dealing with wannabe Machiavellians…

> just remember that this is Apple, the world`s most profitable company. It only gets worse as you go down the list.

I'm not convinced high profitability leads to better working conditions...

Re: I Quit: What really goes on at Apple

#40

Post by AndrewKemendo » Wed, Apr 08, 2015, 7:54 PM UTC

Words like ‘pressure’ kept getting thrown at me in the context of I can’t handle the pressure and “you were told at the interview it’s high pressure”.

Oh lord. As though any of them have any clue about real "high pressure" work environments. Being an asshole unnecessarily isn't a high pressure environment.