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Lots of people talk, but this guy is giving up a lot of money for this stand. That takes character
by jammygit 8y ago
Lots of people talk, but this guy is giving up a lot of money for this stand. That takes character
- JustSomeNobody 8y agoBut there's always the question: Do I stay and try to change things? Or do I leave and expect others to?
- onlyrealcuzzo 8y agoEngineers are commodities. If this is what the board and shareholders want, an engineer has a ~0% chance of leading a revolution and changing that. This is real life capitalism not The Hunger Games.
- JustSomeNobody 8y agoEngineers can move up and have influence.
- onlyrealcuzzo 8y agoInfluence is irrelevant. A publicly traded company (especially of Alphabet's size) has fiduciary obligations.
- anticensor 8y agoSome engineers also have shares. US for-profit (non-bank, non-insurance, non-investor bund) companies, unlike European ones, are not legally required to maximise profits unless they are insolvent. Primary reason for short-time profit drive is investor pressure. The most important fiduciary duty is business competence. The right to reap profits is given in exchange for that.
- jnbiche 8y agoIf engineers were commodities, hiring would be a much simpler process than it is now. But engineers are not commodities, thus we spend 2, 3, or 4 interview sessions going over silly algorithmic puzzles, so companies can figure out if we're great, or if we suck. That's the opposite of a commodity.
- pixxel 8y agoNah, that’s the justification googlers use to not leave their well paid position.
- csytan 8y agoThe thing that drives profitability and decision making at Google is its business model. Even if they wanted to change their business model, it's not easy and not always an option.
- jsgo 8y agobut how many protests against Google's actions (like the AI or whatever for DoD thing before it) before you realize it is just a bad fit and maybe you should look elsewhere lest your work be used for actions you disagree with?
- fucking_tragedy 8y ago> But there's always the question: Do I stay and try to change things? Or do I leave and expect others to? This logic would apply if you were a board member or you held a significant number of voting shares. As an employee, your role is to do what the board and shareholders want you to do. As an employee, you will be replaced should you rock the boat or affect their bottom line.
- Apocryphon 8y agoWhat if there are engineers working to write vulnerabilities and backdoors into Dragonfly? It’s been hypothesized that Heisenberg sabotaged the Nazi nuclear program from the inside, after all.
- kelnos 8y agoSometimes the only power you have is to walk away. The article mentions that he had a ton of meetings with higher-ups during his last two weeks of employment there, but they were clearly uninterested in even acknowledging that there was a problem. Seems like he didn't have the power to change anything except by setting an example by leaving.
- jammygit 8y agoI would just differentiate between strategy and the willingness to take a hit for something. I'm not sure what the best choice in the situation actually is, but the willingness to give up something is impressive
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- oh_sigh 8y agoOr, he found another job quickly with comparable pay.