Is working at Google over hyped?

IQVIA
BaRF06

Go to company page IQVIA

BaRF06
Mar 19 59 Comments

My friends works for Google and he is miserable and has been for many years. Arguably he seems to gets paid insane amounts (>$400k TC) for very little work (<3hr per day) and seems to spends most his time coasting since he is so dissatisfied.

Though the TC is good, he says there is little scope for growth/ learning and essentially is not empowered at all to create change/ progress and seek out challenges.

Is it really be that bad? I want to understand if the problem lies more with his attitude or his work environment.

TC 91k

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TOP 59 Comments
  • IBM
    codingwiz

    Go to company page IBM

    codingwiz
    For 400k/yr you can retire young and play golf, play in a band, travel many times a year, go live in the mountains, whatever you want to do. Seems worth it.

    Beyond that, any job is what you make it. At IBM, I want to work hard and make a difference, but I feel like I can’t mentor others because our young engineers can’t code, and I can’t lead new projects or launch new products because the managers want to coast and the bureaucracy holds me back. But my tc is less than half 400k so I’d happily go there.
    Mar 19 8
    • Amazon
      Hy87ht4

      Go to company page Amazon

      Hy87ht4
      Lol, I'm not a manager.

      I've never seen someone get pipped who didn't deserve it (previous companies).

      I have also never seen pip at Amazon, but YMMV.
      Mar 19
    • IBM
      codingwiz

      Go to company page IBM

      codingwiz
      Funny thing people don’t talk about anymore is that ibm used to have stack ranking and combined with regular layoffs due to falling revenues, I’ve seen many people in my org get laid off. Without even a pip to give fair warning. That said, we didn’t lose anyone who actually worked at least 5 hours a week.
      Mar 19
  • Amazon
    Hy87ht4

    Go to company page Amazon

    Hy87ht4
    All big companies are the same.
    Mar 19 0
  • Google
    vg37

    Go to company page Google

    vg37
    Yes, it is hyped. I know many happy people at Google but many unhappy ones as well.

    Also, what team is your friend in? Everyone in my team works 8-10 hours and the team is super competitive. Salary is also low for my role. Your friend's team seems like a dream
    Mar 19 10
    • Meta / Eng
      flegargble

      Go to company page Meta Eng

      flegargble
      @kWeller, I was interested in the Core Org. What should I be watching out for? wanted to join a team with good wlb ~30-40.
      Mar 19
    • Google
      kWeller

      Go to company page Google

      kWeller
      Tough to figure that out man. Just try to speak to someone from the team. Managers keep overpromising stuff. Some teams have less work but yet bad wlb cause badly managed. In Google Managers are much more technical which also means a lot of people who aren’t good with people managememt and task delegation end up as managers. Skill for managers and ICs are very different with just little technical overlap.
      Mar 20
  • Google
    t7ZQP23USU

    Go to company page Google

    t7ZQP23USU
    The good thing about Google is that you get to choose if you want to coast or hustle, and you're paid relatively well in either cases. That's a luxury for a lot of people. It's definitely not the best place if you want to work hard and grow, there are better options if that's your goal.

    Also, your friend can go wherever he wants with Google on resume, if he's not able to, then it means he chooses to coast but blames Google to look cool.
    Mar 19 0
  • Google
    bebopss

    Go to company page Google

    bebopss
    The actual challenge is to create scope
    Mar 19 4