Bureaucracy grew faster than impact
Eight years in. The first four felt high-leverage. The last four have been more meetings, more reviews, more reorgs. Comp keeps me, not the work.
Search, ads, cloud, devices.
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Google LLC is an American multinational technology corporation focused on information technology, online advertising, search engine technology, email, cloud computing, software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial intelligence (AI). It has been referred to as "the most powerful company in the world" by the BBC, and is one of the world's most valuable brands. Google's parent company Alphabet Inc. has been described as a Big Tech company.
Read full article →Eight years in. The first four felt high-leverage. The last four have been more meetings, more reviews, more reorgs. Comp keeps me, not the work.
Switched orgs three times in five years. Each move was supported. Not many places where that's true.
L3 to L5 was clear-eyed. L5 to L6 took 3 cycles and I still don't fully understand the criteria. Comp grows regardless because of stock.
Five years in. I used to ship to billions of users in a quarter. Now I spend more cycles in alignment meetings than coding. Strong work-life balance is the trade-off.
Free food, transit, on-site doctor, gym. People will tell you the perks aren't worth it without the impact — but I disagree. Coming from a 2-person startup, the infrastructure feels luxurious.
Demo content. Compensation and benefits stay top-tier; reviewers note slower project velocity than before.