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> I constantly feel like I might get fired. Unless you do gross misconduct, Google is one of the hardest companies to get fired from. Don't worry much about th

• nostrademons 6y ago
  Also one of the easiest to suffer impostor syndrome at. Even if you are a good engineer, there are people better than you at Google. I have seen people get PIPped or even fired at Google. You basically have to do no work for an extended period of time (6-12 months) - or alternatively, there's the "gross misconduct" route, where you leak confidential info, insinuate that your coworkers are no good at their jobs, cause a media firestorm, or write long screeds on eng-misc about how Google management is a bunch of sociopaths. Doing no useful work for 12 months is not enough to get you fired - you just won't get promoted, until you find a team whose projects don't get canceled. Doing less work than your coworkers will not get you fired - remember that some of your coworkers are superhuman, so you're almost guaranteed to be less productive than some of them. In general, a good-faith effort to learn Google's systems, align yourself with the goals of your manager and higher-ups, and contribute productively will let you keep your job. May want to start looking around for another manager while putting in that good-faith effort, though. Your manager sounds a little insecure about his own position, which can make things unpleasant for you.