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Why I left Google

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Re: Why I left Google

#31

Post by toomuchtodo »

UmYeahNo wrote: post #9
rexpop wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man. ― George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman What that management training course said is true only in a world without camaraderie, solidarity, and collegiality. I wonder if "out of step with the company" necessarily means your peers and colleagues…

If you love your coworkers, but hate your company's mission, should you stay or leave?

They might be friends, but more often than not, coworkers are NPCs you’ll never hear from again after separating from the org. Certainly keep friends, but don’t sabotage yourself for some mistaken idea of collective and shared struggle. It’s just a job.

Re: Why I left Google

#32

Post by anatolhartford »

rexpop wrote: post #4
ggm wrote: post #2

A management training course I took 20 years ago said when your personal values were out of step with the company then you had to leave for your own mental health. I've thought about that a lot since.

> The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man. ― George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman What that management training course said is true only in a world without camaraderie, solidarity, and collegiality. I wonder if "out of step with the company" necessarily means your peers and colleagues…

No system is perfect, although sitting in the fourth row throughout one's career is a symptom of adaptive preferability.

AI replacing your job has to be experienced with a craned neck - from the front row.

Re: Why I left Google

#33

Post by tomlockwood »

sva_ wrote: post #19

[flagged]

If I can just repeat this back to you: A guy went to a performance he hadn't read anything about, run by a self-described clown, and your takeaway is that it was a "performative self-help group"? A clown.

Re: Why I left Google

#34

Post by doctorpangloss »

jamra wrote: post #28

The author took a tangent so fast and so long into some theater that they didn't ever explain what his problem with AI is. I would love to hear more about it and specifically how Google changed in the last 3 years. I'd like to know what the outlook was 3 years ago and how it drifted.

He said "I am worried it might make my job much worse." He's a technical writer. Seems kind of obvious to me. Have the bot write documentation, or hire one technical writer to write docs for only bots to read: both seem like a worse job (really, no job) for highly compensated Google technical writers.

Re: Why I left Google

#35

Post by pygar »

Narhem wrote: post #6

[flagged]

> Basically stopped working until they fired me.

Out of interest how long does that take at google? Where i work it could take a year, and even then they might "promote you out".

Re: Why I left Google

#36

Post by lopkeny12ko »

Narhem wrote: post #6

[flagged]

What exactly is this point of this? Is it some form of virtue signaling or protest to deliberately waste both your and your employer's time? I don't think 1 person's temper tantrum, out of tens of thousands of engineers, "robs" Google of anything material.

Re: Why I left Google

#37

Post by Phiwise_ »

Narhem wrote: post #8
starspangled wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does borderline holding a gun to your head actually look like?

[flagged]

"When it happens to you"? Does this happen to all engineers, or even a majority? Isn't the percent who work at google under any circumstances much lower?

Re: Why I left Google

#38

Post by pxc »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #31
UmYeahNo wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you love your coworkers, but hate your company's mission, should you stay or leave?

They might be friends, but more often than not, coworkers are NPCs you’ll never hear from again after separating from the org. Certainly keep friends, but don’t sabotage yourself for some mistaken idea of collective and shared struggle. It’s just a job.

> NPCs you’ll never hear from again after separating from the org

Isn't this also on you to maintain those relationships if they're people you care about? And on the same note, if you care about those people you can find ways to keep in touch, like starting a regular group activity.

Re: Why I left Google

#39

Post by brailsafe »

starspangled wrote: post #14
Narhem wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

I don't think I would because it's quite vague and metaphorical. But it may not even happen to me, certainly not by Google because I'd never work for them. Hence my question...

In good faith, (as someone who's never made it into a FAANG, but who's severely burnt out before) I would speculate that one of the few ways an org could metaphorically do this, would be to threaten your ability to work for anyone else or in the country, which could take a variety of forms including holding your visa hostage or colluding with other companies to ensure you're unemployable.

Either way, being in this position would have massive hypothetical implications, especially if you have any dependents or real reason to fear for your life/future/health back in your home country.

In my past situations, I've used the comparison to being waterboarded—which would seem hyperbolic to anyone reading who's never experienced it, but feels pretty appropriate to me—since it wasn't quite as severe of an existential threat as having to leave the country, but it felt like I was metaphorically blindfolded and having buckets of water thrown in my face while I gasped for air, and the consequence of not just trying to keep breathing meant I'd likely spend the next year without an income and not be able to pay off long-standing debts that are ever-increasing with interest.

Re: Why I left Google

#40

Post by starspangled »

Narhem wrote: post #21
starspangled wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think I would because it's quite vague and metaphorical. But it may not even happen to me, certainly not by Google because I'd never work for them. Hence my question...

[flagged]

In any case I am still interested to know a bit more about your story.
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