5 ms·

Moved to Google and TBH have cried once or twice because I didn't realize an employer could be so humane. Amazon was terrifying, but the academic culture I came

Moved to Google and TBH have cried once or twice because I didn't realize an employer could be so humane. Amazon was terrifying, but the academic culture I came from normalized self brutalization to succeed,so I didn't realize how much they were relying on my lack of a sense of boundaries and personal priorities to extract excess labor.

frmramzn 8y ago
And, I'm already making 50% more at Google than I was at Amazon, after a bit more than a year.
- some_account 8y ago
  That self brutalization stuff works on people who needs outside approval to feel good, and it's encouraged behavior in specially American culture to work hard and compete your entire life. Sounds pretty terrible to me. When are you supposed to enjoy life if you are in constant competition?
  - doubt_me 8y ago
    enjoy life? people have to value life to enjoy it first.
  - ikeyany 8y ago
    > That self brutalization stuff works on people who needs outside approval to feel good Prestige and the perception of it is a huge part of self-worth.
dieterrams 8y ago
Mind if I ask what team(s) you were on at Amazon? Looking to avoid the worst. I’m starting to get the impression, though, that if I want to be happiest as a Big Tech Co. engineer, I really just need to work at Google.
- throwaway84742 8y ago
  I heard FB is good as well, though I still don’t get why they need so many people to do what they do. Heck, even MS is probably better than Amazon. I delete all Amazon recruiter emails (of which I receive about 2 per week) as soon as they arrive.
  - stevenwoo 8y ago
    You can tell them to stop contacting you and it works.
    - throwaway84742 8y ago
      Not in my case. I’ve asked them numerous times to remove my email, it subsides for a while and then comes back at the same rate.
      - joering2 8y ago
        Wait till GDPR tell them you are in EU ;)
      - stevenwoo 8y ago
        OK, it happened to me just now, two years after telling them to not contact me. But it was a different group, was gaming, now is AWS.
  - dfire 8y ago
    "even MS is probably better than Amazon" - what makes you think so poorly of Microsoft?
- Mononokay 8y ago
  From what I've heard, Facebook has the most chill culture out of the big three.
  - sadamznintern 8y ago
murph-almighty 8y ago
>but the academic culture I came from normalized self brutalization to succeed What school did you go to? Went somewhere similar.
- pc86 8y ago
  Honestly I've never heard of a college that respects these types of boundaries. By its very nature if you're taking 15+ credits of academically challenging coursework you're going to be working 60+ hours a week. My school recommended 3.5 hours of work outside of class for every 1.0 hour of lecture (roughly equivalent to credit hours with rare exception). For the minimum full-time load of 12.0 this equated to 54 hours a week (12 hours of class, 42 hours of outside). 18 credits was 81 hours a week all in, and this was expected. 100-level classes were typically less but my junior year particularly it was pretty much spot on.
- hueving 8y ago
  That describes pretty much every PhD program in the US.
  - weber111 8y ago
    And, frankly, many strong undergraduate programs, perhaps especially ones which are also very large (my school has 500 person class size even in your second-to-last and last years, so you need to go above and beyond to distinguish yourself enough to, say, get a professor to write you a recommendation)
    - murph-almighty 8y ago
      I was also talking about an undergrad program, probably should have been more clear in my top comment.
sadamznintern 8y ago
I wish I could do that.

frmramzn 8y ago

And, I'm already making 50% more at Google than I was at Amazon, after a bit more than a year.

some_account 8y ago
That self brutalization stuff works on people who needs outside approval to feel good, and it's encouraged behavior in specially American culture to work hard and compete your entire life. Sounds pretty terrible to me. When are you supposed to enjoy life if you are in constant competition?
- doubt_me 8y ago
  enjoy life? people have to value life to enjoy it first.
- ikeyany 8y ago
  > That self brutalization stuff works on people who needs outside approval to feel good Prestige and the perception of it is a huge part of self-worth.

dieterrams 8y ago

Mind if I ask what team(s) you were on at Amazon? Looking to avoid the worst. I’m starting to get the impression, though, that if I want to be happiest as a Big Tech Co. engineer, I really just need to work at Google.

throwaway84742 8y ago
I heard FB is good as well, though I still don’t get why they need so many people to do what they do. Heck, even MS is probably better than Amazon. I delete all Amazon recruiter emails (of which I receive about 2 per week) as soon as they arrive.
- stevenwoo 8y ago
  You can tell them to stop contacting you and it works.
  - throwaway84742 8y ago
    Not in my case. I’ve asked them numerous times to remove my email, it subsides for a while and then comes back at the same rate.
    - joering2 8y ago
      Wait till GDPR tell them you are in EU ;)
    - stevenwoo 8y ago
      OK, it happened to me just now, two years after telling them to not contact me. But it was a different group, was gaming, now is AWS.
- dfire 8y ago
  "even MS is probably better than Amazon" - what makes you think so poorly of Microsoft?
Mononokay 8y ago
From what I've heard, Facebook has the most chill culture out of the big three.
- sadamznintern 8y ago

murph-almighty 8y ago

>but the academic culture I came from normalized self brutalization to succeed What school did you go to? Went somewhere similar.

pc86 8y ago
Honestly I've never heard of a college that respects these types of boundaries. By its very nature if you're taking 15+ credits of academically challenging coursework you're going to be working 60+ hours a week. My school recommended 3.5 hours of work outside of class for every 1.0 hour of lecture (roughly equivalent to credit hours with rare exception). For the minimum full-time load of 12.0 this equated to 54 hours a week (12 hours of class, 42 hours of outside). 18 credits was 81 hours a week all in, and this was expected. 100-level classes were typically less but my junior year particularly it was pretty much spot on.
hueving 8y ago
That describes pretty much every PhD program in the US.
- weber111 8y ago
  And, frankly, many strong undergraduate programs, perhaps especially ones which are also very large (my school has 500 person class size even in your second-to-last and last years, so you need to go above and beyond to distinguish yourself enough to, say, get a professor to write you a recommendation)
  - murph-almighty 8y ago
    I was also talking about an undergrad program, probably should have been more clear in my top comment.

sadamznintern 8y ago

I wish I could do that.