Ask HN: Is it really so dull to work in huge company?

I have changed job lately. And this is my first time in really large company with ~300k employees worldwide. So this is my first, first hand, experience in large company. My first impressions is that everyone knows only quite narrow field of the project. And it still surprises me as I'm used to opposite. Next thing that really struck me was how hard is to just approach someone and get to know him. As there are people sitting next to each other that have way different work. So you never know if what the guy next to you actually does, also it is hard to approach someone since most of the people spend large amount of time on online calls. Therefore you really never know if you can approach someone and don't look like an disturbing idiot. And lastly I feel like we are dealing with not that much of complicated technical products, but the complexity of work is created by all the processes (SAP, etc.). I mean the people are actually pretty nice, they are not stupid at all, but everything just seems so dull. And I have feeling like it really does not matter if you are really good or under average. You just learn all the processes that company has and the execute them. I feel like I'm in huge ant colony that's somehow producing results. And suddenly can understand why startups can undercut such behemoths. I mean I read about it plenty of times, but it is very different if you are living it.

My question is. Is that really how big companies operate? Or are there exceptions? For me that means that I have to accept to just provide defined outputs to some defined inputs (for decent wage). Or avoid such companies if I'm not able to accept it.

Yes, that all sounds typical of the experiences I have had in large companies.

I don't know if I'd call working in a huge company "dull" -- to me, that depends more on the work I'm doing than the nature of the company I'm doing it for.

However, working in a huge company does bring all sorts of things, including many you list, that I dislike. As a result, I very strongly prefer working for smaller outfits.

But everything's a tradeoff. There are different upsides and downsides to huge companies, tiny companies, and every size in between. the trick is to be clear with yourself about what tradeoffs are best for you.

On the whole, big companies tend to be bureaucratic behemoths out of necessity. You might find them generally dismal places to work.

But then again, you might find some really fun and interesting pockets within those big companies.

I'm a project manager for a small software product at a large company. I like to think that my little space within this huge company is an enjoyable place to work. While I am responsible to stakeholders to make sure we accomplish certain major tasks, I get a bucket of funding to allocate as I please. My team and I can decide on our own what tools to use, what languages, how to structure our development schedule, etc. It's all very not-behemoth-like.

But go across the hall (figuratively speaking -- my team works mostly remote) and you might find an abundance of process and bureaucracy. I've been there too. And admittedly, that may well be what the majority of the company is like. But if you can find a project / group / etc. that suits you, you may be happy working there even if the style of the rest of the company isn't to your liking.

Not being approached at my desk is a feature, not a bug.