Hi All, I have recently accepted an E4 Facebook offer as a new grad research scientist (PhD). This Microsoft account if from an old internship. I am new to blind and have been overwhelmed over all the threads about WLB and PIPs in Facebook. I am not really a hard-worker by industry standards as I am mostly an academic and spend most of my time thinking/designing on the whiteboard---very good at solving problems and writing research papers but really slow at coding and development, and not used to consistent long working hours everyday. I accepted the Facebook offer over Google mostly due to the "research scientist" title (to possibly join a more researchy/publishing team and also in case I wanted to switch to academia later) and my goal was to experiment for the first year to see whether I am a good fit for industry or I should apply for a faculty position in academia. But now I am super scared I cannot even make it to the end of the first year. I have recently gotten married and WLB is a huge concern for me. Did I make a big mistake? Could you please comment and help?
I would go talk to google again ...
It sounds like you are a better fit with google. However, just work hard for 12 months, then start interviewing. It won’t kill you and you might learn a few things and grow along the way.
Thank you. That is my current plan given I have declined other offers. But the more I read blind the more I get worried. Is it manageable to survive the first 12 months?
I don’t work at fb so I can’t help you there. But get ready for a challenge. A good job will push you and help you grow 3x as fast as a simple role.
Mistake. Basically you took a SWE job that will pay less for the same work
RS get paid less than SWE?! Lol what makes you say that?!
Yeah :/ It’s super weird. Had multiple friends that joined as RS and then found out their pay was lower :P
OP you at FAIR?! Then you are at best company since FAIR has some of the best scientists in the industry depending on what you are working on (you must know hehe) Also, RS at Fb Research is nothing like SWE lol. You will have REs under you to do that. Congrats on the offers btw :)
Are you at FB? FAIR has the least research accomplishments compared with open ai, brain, deep mind and others.
I literally laughed at your comment about RS. Sure some research scientists do work on research but it doesn’t change the fact that the RS title at FB is no different from swe. Also I laughed at your idea of RS better than swe. It’s one of the best bullshits I’ve ever seen. RE is common for swe too.
What group? Some groups are better than others.
depend on the team you're joining. some teams have good WLB (9 to 5) but don't expect you can just coast. I think if you don't want to work hard, pick a team you're very comfortable with. don't choose a team with some new tech that you need to learn because you're expected to learn and deliver fast and it will add to your stress. Also during bootcamp ask the manager/senior how is WLB in the team. also, if you can still pick google, go back and take their offer. FB is very cut throat, deliver or you're out.
Research Scientist title is mainly useful for immigration purposes (EB-1), type of work is determined by team/org you join. Assuming you interviewed as a specialist of some sort, ML or otherwise, you should look for teams in research orgs if you want to do research. Stay away from product teams. I'm on a product team, we have half SWE, half RS, all doing the same work, nobody has read a paper in years. >But now I am super scared I cannot even make it to the end of the first year. I have recently gotten married and WLB is a huge concern for me. Stop being a baby. If people ask you to do do more after work, tell them you'll look at it in the morning. If you get pipped, apply to another job.
Very close to what ^ said.
You should contact google and see if they can extend an offer again. I work with a new phd research scientist who sounds like you. They code slowly and have to work 60-80 hours a week to keep up with the rest of the team. I work 35 - 50 hours a week. They got meets most last half and are borderline meets most or meets all this half.
Kid, the research scientist title is equivalent to software engineer and has nothing to do with type of work.
Lol wut you a SWE, right?! Or /s
Observed a pissed RS.