Tech IndustryApr 5, 2019
GoProarcm85

Career/Life Questions - What would u do

I’ve been in Bay Area now for 6 years and over the past yr have been in kind of a rut. I don’t feel as happy being in SF and don’t feel like I’m fully taking advantage of the city. I think personality wise, I tend to be more slower pace, more mild mannered and wanting to invest in the area more. Being Gay, I was hoping to really connect in SF, but sometimes I feel like it can be hard to really move along with everyone else. I have been thinking about moving to a new city, in particular Seattle and LA (possibly nyc, Chicago and austin). Seattle seems like the easier transition due to plentiful tech companies. I interviewed at Amazon last month and unfortunately did not get the role. I think my lunch buddy wasn’t suppose to say but he told me the role was an L6 role, and I started to freak out a little bit and put too much pressure on myself to do well the rest of interview. Luckily recruiter said that they felt like I’d be a good fit at amazon and that I should reach out to her if I saw anything I wanted to apply to. She said I did not have a freeze period on my profile so could apply immediately. Unfortunately I dunno any roles so far that’d be a good fit In the meantime, I’m just trying to make the most out of SF but still feel really uncertain about things. I’m currently at a start up company that’s doing very well with a very great chance of ipo or getting acquired in the near future. I have a good relationship with my boss too, but for some reason I don’t really care about the money to make me stick it out in SF. I also get sick a lot here. My allergies are worse in SF than anywhere. I’ve done a procedure too in hopes it helps control it, but this is quite annoying when I get sick or allergies every other wk. Luckily I have a few active hobbies that tend to keep me busy here. It’s nice to be able to have hobbies that are easily accessible in Bay Area that really help me clear my mind, but eventually I think about things and I don’t feel like I’m progressing in life. Just wondering what u all would do. Would y’all wait it out, try to be patient and find the right job in another city? Or take a chance for something new or for ur happiness and move somewhere in hopes to find a job? Any thoughts, comments are greatly appreciated. If also anyone has any referrals or companies I should look into, happy to hear them as well. A lot of my roles have been focused on strategy and planning.

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Microsoft Wela Apr 5, 2019

What’s your ethnicity?

New
GPxe14 May 17, 2019

What would the difference be if he was east Asian vs say white or Indian?

Intel g3forever Apr 5, 2019

Live in West Hollywood

Microsoft Pined Apr 5, 2019

Seattle might be a great option for finding a more “mild mannered” community but...it’ll still have some of the attributes and issues you’re experiencing there. You have to look around to find the right community. If you don’t care about the money you may lose by leaving pre-IPO then maybe you should move. It is rare-ish to have a great boss though so that’s something to consider.

Oath BobBuilder Apr 6, 2019

I think 6 years is well past the "gave it an honest go" period so I wouldn't feel bad about looking around. I went from Seattle -> bay and now I'm about to head back to Seattle, after under 2 years in bay. I really like Seattle aside from the weather which can be somewhat dreary (as I'm sure you've heard). My personal sentiment is that people in bay are very career oriented and everything eventually circles back to how things will advance career or how we can join the next big thing or build the next great idea. Seattle I feel is more do your 9-5, put in an honest effort then go home and live your life and there's more variety in culture- not everyone works in tech. I'm really looking forward to being back in that environment. On top of that, Seattle has a lot of great tech companies, and when you factor in decent career possibilities, no state tax, and more reasonable housing prices it's pretty lucrative even in terms of professional life. I'd give it a go and cast a net, see if you can land some offers in the cities you mentioned. Most companies will fly you out for interview if you get to on-site and you can usually request to stay an extra day or two (especially if you arrange your own stay for additional days) and visit the city a little and feel it out. I've found recruiters are more than happy to oblige because they want the candidates to see if they like the city. In terms of Seattle companies, I can throw out a few decent companies but I think there's more cohesive lists on blind/reddit. I'm also assuming you're an engineer, but I imagine most if not all are hiring for a large variety of positions outside of engineering. Amazon as you mentioned (prime video and ordering team are both aggressively hiring, I interviewed a month ago), Microsoft (always tons of roles open, but I'd reach out directly to recruiters for specific roles because it's easy to get lost, also expect slow turnaround), Facebook, Google (Google is good if you can get in because you can switch offices in a few years and there's lots of offices), Dropbox (I'm not 100% sure but Im pretty sure there's office there), Zillow (where I'm headed :)), Tableau, Redfin, Expedia, Apptio, Nordstrom. Best of luck :)

Amazon ulAe21 Apr 7, 2019

Hey there, Sending you good vibes. I’m happy to refer you to any job you find in amazon career page. Just PM me

GoPro arcm85 OP Apr 8, 2019

Thank you! PM sent

Lookout Wqxx25 Nov 12, 2019

SF sucks. Move