If I jump to another company that "looks better" in the press, in Twitter circles etc... it's more likely I've gone somewhere which just doesn't allow employees to complain about things.
Every company has demons as bad as, if not worse -- the only difference with Google is employees aren't afraid to openly share the skeletons from the closet, and things like Maven/Dragonfly got cancelled as a result. Many other companies would've just fired half the workforce.
I don't like everything that happens here, but at least I get the impression that stuff is out in the open.
That's fair. I would express though that every time these skeletons happen, the whistleblowers and organizers don't survive the trip: Everyone from the Google Walkout organization was retaliated against and were fired or pushed to quit.
Maven got cancelled, but Google now has a contract with ICE/CBP's "virtual border wall" program and is working on a big contract with Saudi Arabia, after, you know, meeting with the very same guy who had a journalist cut into pieces. Thousands of Googlers may have walked out before, but they walked back in, and haven't walked out again, even though things are just as bad... or wose.
Timnit Gebru was immediately walked out for daring to question the ethics of Google's large scale AI systems. Lauded engineers like Jeff Dean were directly involved and defended the decision to get rid of her.
Sure, Google won't fire half it's workforce overnight, and plenty of rabblerousers are still there. But they keep removing the instigators who are loud enough to speak up and start those complaint processes.
And sure, moving to another FAANG isn't necessarily going to help, they all have those skeletons. But there is a ton of tech that isn't done by Fortune 50 companies. There's a ton of tech that is for the good of humanity or on new and innovative upstarts. The only alternative to Google isn't Facebook or Twitter.
> And sure, moving to another FAANG isn't necessarily going to help, they all have those skeletons. But there is a ton of tech that isn't done by Fortune 50 companies. There's a ton of tech that is for the good of humanity or on new and innovative upstarts. The only alternative to Google isn't Facebook or Twitter.
I would be happy to hear of tech companies falling under that bucket which meaningfully employ PhD's, and are either located in a low cost of living location or pay comparably to FAANG in a high cost of living location.
The question shouldn't be "can I make as much working for non-evil[1] companies" but rather how much of a premium are you willing to give up for doing what is good for society. For me, I'll happily earn less if it means that my conscience[2] is clear.
[1] I mean, I'm using "evil" loosely here. Its just an illustration, I'm not going to argue about how evil or not evil FAANG are.
[2] Of course, everyone has a different definition of what they consider questionable and will therefore draw the line in different places. Its a personal decision, but you should hopefully understand why someone who doesn't agree with your definition might judge you for it, rightly or wrongly.
If I jump to another company that "looks better" in the press, in Twitter circles etc... it's more likely I've gone somewhere which just doesn't allow employees to complain about things.
Every company has demons as bad as, if not worse -- the only difference with Google is employees aren't afraid to openly share the skeletons from the closet, and things like Maven/Dragonfly got cancelled as a result. Many other companies would've just fired half the workforce.
I don't like everything that happens here, but at least I get the impression that stuff is out in the open.