I’m at a point in my career where I feel alone and adrift and could use some guidance. Out of college I spent ~3 years at Google in NYC. I left at L4 and spent ~2 years at a medtech startup (“Alpha”) that ended up with a bad eng culture, and ~2 months ago joined another startup (“Beta”) in NYC. The eng culture is better (not w/o its own issues), but I’m kinda just… not feeling it? It’s hard to articulate exactly what I don’t like, what I would want to be different. I’m not super enthusiastic about the product, at least in its current state, though I kinda knew that going in. And though Beta’s still pretty young (~2yrs, about to close an A), there’s been enough done before me that it doesn’t really feel like it’s “mine”; not in the same way that Alpha felt like it was “mine” when I first got there (before things went downhill). Eng team is around 10, about half are also ex-Big-Tech, which I think is good (part of what attracted me), but there’s not much eng leadership. Should I go back to a larger tech co., with more engineers, just to get more exposure to different kinds of people? When I was looking around to leave Alpha, I wasn’t excited about roles I saw in NYC, which is making me want to give The Bay a try. Alpha was also pretty toxic, and there’s a chance I’m still just recovering from burnout? I was emotionally exhausted and ready to gtfo at the end of my time there, but I don’t think I feel burned out? I feel ready and eager to be excited about something new. I want to be growing and pushing myself, to work with smart people, to feel like I’m really building something, to be excited to get to work every day. I just turned 27, it’s a new decade, and, idk, I feel like I’m kinda just sitting here, I’m not sure where I’m going or what I’m doing. Should I try sticking around Beta a bit more to see how things turn out? Is giving the Valley a go a worthwhile thing to try? Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated. #nyc #startup #bayarea #google
Maybe you are burned out while a part of your mind is not ready to accept it. Focus on what matters!
I think that's possible. But what do I do to fix it? Just take time off? What does "focusing on what matters" look like?
Take time off and read unstoppable
Honestly man, take a break. Quit. Take a few months off and travel. Research roles and companies that would interest you and will give you a nice network. Then, jump back in around March-April. I’m sure you’ve saved up enough from google to afford 2-3 month break. Take it while you can.
Hehe, a few people have told me I need some more time off. I'm always a little paranoid about eating into my savings, but realistically I definitely could for a month or two. Travel for it's own sake (especially solo) never appealed to me too much, but I buy that some time to just disconnect and kinda reset my brain might be good.
Until you take the time off, it’s hard to explain to you how much you’ll change for the better with new experiences and completely walking away from the things you’ve always known (school, then engineering jobs in the office). You’ll start seeing life as a temporary journey from one place to another, in which there’s no destination. Just an amalgamation of experiences to have. You’ll go back to work with much more intention and clarity on your life.
One site I found helpful in my search for startups in NYC is builtinnyc.com. And obviously LinkedIn Jobs
Definitely a burnout experience. Remember in the end it's just a job. The things you want are very rare and you'll have better luck as you expand your network. Regarding the feeling of ownership, if you're a true professional, you'll own it regardless of who started it.
> Definitely a burnout experience. Remember in the end it's just a job. I struggle with the "it's just a job" stuff. On the one hand, yes, I totally get that it's not healthy for your entire life to be focused on just one thing. But at the same time, I do care a lot about engineering and want it to be a significant part of my life. I don't see my career as just a way to pay for the rest of my life. > The things you want are very rare and you'll have better luck as you expand your network. That makes sense, but is also part of what's making me think that working somewhere larger and possibly in The Bay would be better for building out my network. > Regarding the feeling of ownership, if you're a true professional, you'll own it regardless of who started it. Yeah of course, but I guess part of what I'm looking for in a startup is stronger feelings of ownership (in exchange for all the ways a startup is less good than a larger tech co.). And I think ownership is a two-way street. This kind of goes into the lack of eng leadership -- there's kinda just a few of the early engineers that run things unofficially, and they tend to be a little controlling, probably somewhat protective of what they see as "their baby".
come work for booking and coast i'm an xoogler too.
Do they pay competitively to get Xooglers?
Coinbase NYC is hiring!
2 months ago Coinbase only let me talk to an SF team and not any NY teams. I aced a phone screen and then got a no-go email. Thankfully i’m now making above coinbase range but their process has some serious bugs in it.
NY positions just opened :/