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How to Quit a Top Tier Tech Job

oliverzheng.com

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Re: How to Quit a Top Tier Tech Job

#71

Post by matte_black »

I find the only people whose eyes go wide almost popping out of their head are younger people just entering the workforce whom may have never met someone who works at a big company whose products they use everyday (or recruiters I guess). It's like you're a celebrity to them. Hell, some of these kids used to get pumped when I was telling them I was merely heading to some Apple conference or Google I/O.

No one with experience in the industry gives two shits even if you worked at Facebook, Google and Apple, because they have no illusions about what it means to work there or what it must say about you.

Re: How to Quit a Top Tier Tech Job

#72

Post by jrbancel »

kettlecorn wrote: post #39
throwaway289910 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm currently about to quit Microsoft and am going through the exact same set of questions in my head. I joined the company a few months ago and am blown away by how bad the culture is - or how badly I fit into the culture, take your pick. If you don't fit the culture, it's time to leave.

A massive issue with Microsoft's college recruiting pipeline (this may not apply to you) is that college hires are placed pretty much arbitrarily without input from the hire themselves. People interested in backend work get placed on frontend, people interested in frontend work get placed on backend. As a result, retention for Microsoft college hires is rather poor. Contrast this with Google where once you're selecte…

I have had the exact opposite experience.

The first thing I was asked when I interviewed with Microsoft was what I wanted to do and what I wanted to avoid. I said, no frontend, something related to distributed systems and they put me up for interviews with an Azure team.

With Google, it was like "interview first, accept the offer before knowing where you are going to be placed, and we will put you in some team".

Re: How to Quit a Top Tier Tech Job

#73

Post by ttul »

yfiapo wrote: post #33

Yeesh, the mindwash is strong. I had a hard time continuing to read this post after the Prestige by Association section. Working at a respected company known for cutting edge work is generally a good sign but it does not make you an Internet God or widen my eyes. It is like saying you went to Harvard or MIT. That's neat. You are probably reasonably intelligent. However, even that isn't an automatic and I'll reserve j…

Two fucking years of savings? What world is this guy living in?

Re: How to Quit a Top Tier Tech Job

#74

Post by scarecrowboat »

magic_beans wrote: post #56
debt wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's actually quite hilarious to me this Prestige by Association. I've worked at a couple very high-profile companies in the Valley and have never felt this prestige primarily because I don't hang out with complete douchebags. If people get all starry-eyed when you announce the company you work for; run in the opposite direction. Also, don't kidd yourself, you and I know both know you're not working on anything that…

He's (likely) Chinese-American. Chinese culture is HUGE on prestige.

It's interesting that you associate an American of (likely) Chinese descent with Chinese culture.

Re: How to Quit a Top Tier Tech Job

#75

Post by jstanier »

ttul wrote: post #73
yfiapo wrote: post #33

Yeesh, the mindwash is strong. I had a hard time continuing to read this post after the Prestige by Association section. Working at a respected company known for cutting edge work is generally a good sign but it does not make you an Internet God or widen my eyes. It is like saying you went to Harvard or MIT. That's neat. You are probably reasonably intelligent. However, even that isn't an automatic and I'll reserve j…

Two fucking years of savings? What world is this guy living in?

I didn't get that either.

Surely if you work somewhere like that you're pretty employable and not in the middle or nowhere. Why not just go work elsewhere for a bit while you work out what you really want to do next?

Re: How to Quit a Top Tier Tech Job

#77

Post by kettlecorn »

cbanek wrote: post #58
kettlecorn wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A massive issue with Microsoft's college recruiting pipeline (this may not apply to you) is that college hires are placed pretty much arbitrarily without input from the hire themselves. People interested in backend work get placed on frontend, people interested in frontend work get placed on backend. As a result, retention for Microsoft college hires is rather poor. Contrast this with Google where once you're selecte…

That's a really interesting comparison. I've worked at Microsoft and got an offer from Google and found the opposite to be true. I was first offered by the team I interned with, whom I liked, and accepted, so I knew where I was going. On the Google case, even being an industry hire, it was like pulling teeth to figure out where the offer actually was, and who I would be working for, and being able to actually speak w…

What you say is completely true. If you were an intern at Microsoft you can be pretty sure you're returning to that team (unless there's a reorganization). With Google you have no idea what team you'll end up on when you're evaluating an offer.

However, once you accept a Google offer you're given more choice as to what team you'll be on. With Microsoft (if you weren't a returning intern) you're given very little to no choice and it can be quite arbitrary where you end up.

Certainly both of these systems have massive flaws, but I think the Microsoft system would lead to far lower retention for non-intern college hires.

Re: How to Quit a Top Tier Tech Job

#78

Post by dandr01d »

matte_black wrote: post #71

I find the only people whose eyes go wide almost popping out of their head are younger people just entering the workforce whom may have never met someone who works at a big company whose products they use everyday (or recruiters I guess). It's like you're a celebrity to them. Hell, some of these kids used to get pumped when I was telling them I was merely heading to some Apple conference or Google I/O. No one with ex…

Speak for yourself. I would definitely give a shit if someone who applied to my theoretical company worked at a top-tier company.

Re: How to Quit a Top Tier Tech Job

#79

Post by throwaway13991 »

debt wrote: post #50
yfiapo wrote: post #33

Yeesh, the mindwash is strong. I had a hard time continuing to read this post after the Prestige by Association section. Working at a respected company known for cutting edge work is generally a good sign but it does not make you an Internet God or widen my eyes. It is like saying you went to Harvard or MIT. That's neat. You are probably reasonably intelligent. However, even that isn't an automatic and I'll reserve j…

It's actually quite hilarious to me this Prestige by Association. I've worked at a couple very high-profile companies in the Valley and have never felt this prestige primarily because I don't hang out with complete douchebags. If people get all starry-eyed when you announce the company you work for; run in the opposite direction. Also, don't kidd yourself, you and I know both know you're not working on anything that…

As someone who works at one of the very high profile companies, on something cool, that people get in contact with every day (and sometimes discuss publicly), I respectfully disagree.

Bureaucracy and process often exist, but it varies extremely. Sometimes it can be quite direct.

(I certainly don't think that "working on the very algorithm that determines which ads are shown" is cool, though, as I work on products.)

Re: How to Quit a Top Tier Tech Job

#80

Post by neogodless »

sizzzzlerz wrote: post #41

Beyond 2 years salary in savings, one should also factor in the cost of medical insurance. One bad accident or illness will eat that savings account in a heartbeat.

The article actually says

> enough savings to last at least two years

That's good, because you should lose the mindset that salary is equal to spending in a hurry!

Savings that lasts two years accounts for all of your expenses over a two year period. Yes, if you need medical insurance, and it was supplied by your employer, it no longer will be, and you need to factor that into your expenses.

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