Our industry is broken. What matters is being good at interviews, not good at your job.

GEOTAB / Eng
Zack19

Go to company page GEOTAB Eng

Zack19
Aug 31, 2021 24 Comments

Truth is there is no monetary incentive to work hard at your job. The optimal strategy is to phone #it in while studying for interviews. Rinse and repeat. Being a great engineer who cares about your work or company is not rewarded.##

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TOP 24 Comments
  • Google / Eng
    JimKerrig

    Go to company page Google Eng

    PRE
    Google
    JimKerrig
    Only works until senior. Good luck cracking staff+ without some real experience.
    Aug 31, 2021 8
    • Google / Eng
      JimKerrig

      Go to company page Google Eng

      PRE
      Google
      JimKerrig
      Well I’m talking about staff equivalent level at top tier companies. Not some random no name title inflated companies. But sure keep up that attitude, you’ll hit a plateau in your career.
      Aug 31, 2021
    • GEOTAB / Eng
      Zack19

      Go to company page GEOTAB Eng

      Zack19
      OP
      Are you suggesting top tier companies do not have inflated titles? If you're at Google the chances of you working at a high impact meaningful project is slim to none. Google is the number one rest and vest company. Juniors at most companies have way more impact than seniors at Google. Hell that's why people want to work at Google to begin with. Get paid super well and be expected to contribute nothing.
      Aug 31, 2021
  • Everyone knows that. Hence the recommended 18 month switch
    Aug 31, 2021 1
  • Sad but true. You can literally do nothing and prepare yourself well for interviews, claim what your team done on your resume, -> higher tc yay
    Aug 31, 2021 2
    • Amazon
      t48

      Go to company page Amazon

      PRE
      Zynga
      t48
      Damn, I think that might be why I failed many interviews: being too honest to take credits of the team’s collective work. With ramping up taking a few months at least, you can’t really get much fancy work done personally within 2 years at a company.
      Aug 31, 2021
    • GEOTAB / Eng
      Zack19

      Go to company page GEOTAB Eng

      Zack19
      OP
      Yup. Honest and loyal workers get screwed due to politics. People that lie in interviews get rewarded. It sucks
      Aug 31, 2021
  • Being bitter isn't particularly productive. Being actually good at your job is a better way to maximize TC long-term.
    Aug 31, 2021 4
  • Amazon
    qGDY30

    Go to company page Amazon

    qGDY30
    Reality is you ain't getting more money even if you work your way up at a single company.

    Only way to increase comp is switching companies.

    And true, there is little incentive to get your work done. You can get everything done before the sprint ends but still expected to be at your computer and available and on every meeting. Like no thanks.
    Aug 31, 2021 2
    • GEOTAB / Eng
      Zack19

      Go to company page GEOTAB Eng

      Zack19
      OP
      It is even worse than what you described. Working your way up requires luck and politics anyway no matter how hard you work. Expecting to be rewarded is like hoping to win the lottery. The only thing you can control is getting better at interviews.
      Aug 31, 2021
    • AT&T
      oeGp70

      Go to company page AT&T

      oeGp70
      OP is spot on. In a big corp, doing a great job is a waste of time and gives you a minimal raise, unless it's a high growth environment (99% of firms are not). I don't like lc, so i do enough to keep people happy and then spend rest of the day managing my investments.
      Aug 31, 2021