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Hey Nathan, I'm very curious about what you mean by "I also don't think they have a very good company culture". I've been at GitLab since early 2015 (employee

by DouweM 8y ago

Hey Nathan, I'm very curious about what you mean by "I also don't think they have a very good company culture". I've been at GitLab since early 2015 (employee #10), and the culture is one of the major reasons why I joined, and stayed. :) Would you mind elaborating? For anyone else reading along, our Handbook (https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/ https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/) covers our culture (and every other aspect of working here) very well.

nathan_f77 8y ago
Hi there, glad to hear that you enjoy working at GitLab! My impression was just based on some things I've been hearing about compensation, and a couple of negative comments and articles. I think the best way to explain it is that GitLab sounds like a more traditional place to work. Similar to companies in the UK, Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. It's very unlikely that I would accept a job in one of these countries for the same reasons. Software engineers are typically not paid very well and are treated more like "code monkeys" who report to their managers and don't have any self-direction. I guess I've just been spoiled by Silicon Valley, so the rest of the world doesn't feel very competitive compared to some of these SV startups.
- DouweM 8y ago
  I'll leave the subject of compensation to the threads dedicated to it, but 'software engineers [...] are treated more like "code monkeys" who report to their managers and don't have any self-direction' absolutely does not apply to GitLab. Have you had a chance to check out our values (https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/values/ https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/values/) or our section on making decisions (https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/leadership/#making-decisions https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/leadership/#making-decisio...)? What you're describing is pretty much the opposite of how we actually work :)
- DouweM 8y ago
  I also feel like you're painting companies outside Silicon Valley with a pretty broad brush. There's nothing about a healthy engineering culture that makes it unique to Silicon Valley, and there are many, many companies in those regions you mention that would take significant issue with that generalization. If you want to optimize for annual salary, Silicon Valley is probably the place to be, but if you want to optimize for happiness (however a developer may define that for themselves), it's just one of many potential places to go, and if you want to optimize for work/life balance, it's probably not even in the top 10.
  - nathan_f77 8y ago
    Sorry yes, companies can have a healthy engineering culture anywhere in the world, even if they pay the local market rate. It’s just my personal experience interviewing at a number of startups/companies in these countries, and from friends who work at them. I would really love to move to Toronto, but the salaries are just way too low. Hopefully I can find another way to move there.
ILikeConemowk 8y ago
Hello DouweM, I've been considering joining gitlab for a while! I have a couple of questions about how you guys make remote work run smoothly, can I reach out to you? Thanks!
- DouweM 8y ago
  For sure; you can reach me at [first_name]@gitlab.com!

by DouweM 8y ago

nathan_f77 8y ago

Hi there, glad to hear that you enjoy working at GitLab! My impression was just based on some things I've been hearing about compensation, and a couple of negative comments and articles. I think the best way to explain it is that GitLab sounds like a more traditional place to work. Similar to companies in the UK, Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. It's very unlikely that I would accept a job in one of these countries for the same reasons. Software engineers are typically not paid very well and are treated more like "code monkeys" who report to their managers and don't have any self-direction. I guess I've just been spoiled by Silicon Valley, so the rest of the world doesn't feel very competitive compared to some of these SV startups.

DouweM 8y ago
I'll leave the subject of compensation to the threads dedicated to it, but 'software engineers [...] are treated more like "code monkeys" who report to their managers and don't have any self-direction' absolutely does not apply to GitLab. Have you had a chance to check out our values (https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/values/ https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/values/) or our section on making decisions (https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/leadership/#making-decisions https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/leadership/#making-decisio...)? What you're describing is pretty much the opposite of how we actually work :)
DouweM 8y ago
I also feel like you're painting companies outside Silicon Valley with a pretty broad brush. There's nothing about a healthy engineering culture that makes it unique to Silicon Valley, and there are many, many companies in those regions you mention that would take significant issue with that generalization. If you want to optimize for annual salary, Silicon Valley is probably the place to be, but if you want to optimize for happiness (however a developer may define that for themselves), it's just one of many potential places to go, and if you want to optimize for work/life balance, it's probably not even in the top 10.
- nathan_f77 8y ago
  Sorry yes, companies can have a healthy engineering culture anywhere in the world, even if they pay the local market rate. It’s just my personal experience interviewing at a number of startups/companies in these countries, and from friends who work at them. I would really love to move to Toronto, but the salaries are just way too low. Hopefully I can find another way to move there.

ILikeConemowk 8y ago

Hello DouweM, I've been considering joining gitlab for a while! I have a couple of questions about how you guys make remote work run smoothly, can I reach out to you? Thanks!

DouweM 8y ago
For sure; you can reach me at [first_name]@gitlab.com!