The Google that was everyone's darling from the early part of the past decade is gone. If you want to learn how big companies work from the inside, or discover

The Google that was everyone's darling from the early part of the past decade is gone. If you want to learn how big companies work from the inside, or discover the true meaning of "the one that's deprecated and the one that doesn't work yet", go for it. If you'd rather deal with the acquisition and management of disk and RAM quotas instead of coding, apply now! When one of the questions to "ask the eng elders" is "how do I become an elder", and when the only real answer is "go start your own company", the sweetheart days are gone. If you weren't there in the beginning, you missed the train. It's unfortunate, too, since there's a lot of good infrastructure left over from those classic times which is all tied up inside. It's treated as Secret Sauce and will never see the light of day. Various escapees have started re-implementing bits and pieces on the outside, however, so this will eventually take care of itself.