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How are you thinking about pricing it out? I was just thinking earlier today about the absolute meaninglessness of my Big Tech job — and whether it's even feas

How are you thinking about pricing it out? I was just thinking earlier today about the absolute meaninglessness of my Big Tech job — and whether it's even feasible or worthwhile to try and find something better. I have meetings, and many of those meetings are about other meetings. In fleeting moments between calendar chimes, video calls, chat pings, and the flood of email, I code little morsels of SQL or Blub to at least do something interesting. It's tolerable, like all studies in nihilism. But you've got me wondering what it'd be like to work on something I'm genuinely enthusiastic about. I really dislike the notion of taking a reduction in income to get that, though. I can't pay the bills with "meaning."

sgtnoodle 3y ago
I've been lucky to pursue projects I'm well aligned with in terms of both technical interest and mission. Perhaps less attributable to luck, I've also always maintained a high bar for who I associate myself with, and on several occasions I've "laid it all out on the table," confronting people in organizational leadership positions when things are messed up. That's more "grit" I would say. While awkward at the time, so far it's always gone well for me. I've demanded the best, and I've always given my own best. I've gone the extra mile for the company I keep, and I've gotten back the extra mile in return. Zipline in particular has been an overwhelmingly supportive environment to have spent the the last 7 years of my life. How are you all thinking about compensation in terms of salary vs. equity? I've never sweated over salary. Quite the opposite, I've intentionally sacrificed salary in favor of equity. I've taken calculated risks based on "expected values" I learned in school, and as expected things have turned out well. I prefer to own what I'm working on, and I appreciate the power of specialization. In exchange for meeting my high expectations, I've always trusted my current project or company leadership. Our interests are aligned, so it's easy. So far, prioritizing equity has paid off. When I left the self driving car project for Zipline, right before it spun off as Waymo, my manager's manager asked me why I was considering leaving. On top of the exciting technical challenges, I mentioned the calculations I had done. I negotiated an offer that had the same expected value, but Zipline's upside was significantly higher. The manager thought it was crazy at the time. When I took the Zipline offer, It was a solid 25% decrease in salary. 7 years later that manager is at another company; several of my friends that stayed at Waymo are now laid off, and others that weren't have been casually looking for new opportunities. Meanwhile I've been having a blast and only have wonderful things to say.

sgtnoodle 3y ago

I've been lucky to pursue projects I'm well aligned with in terms of both technical interest and mission. Perhaps less attributable to luck, I've also always maintained a high bar for who I associate myself with, and on several occasions I've "laid it all out on the table," confronting people in organizational leadership positions when things are messed up. That's more "grit" I would say. While awkward at the time, so far it's always gone well for me. I've demanded the best, and I've always given my own best. I've gone the extra mile for the company I keep, and I've gotten back the extra mile in return. Zipline in particular has been an overwhelmingly supportive environment to have spent the the last 7 years of my life. How are you all thinking about compensation in terms of salary vs. equity? I've never sweated over salary. Quite the opposite, I've intentionally sacrificed salary in favor of equity. I've taken calculated risks based on "expected values" I learned in school, and as expected things have turned out well. I prefer to own what I'm working on, and I appreciate the power of specialization. In exchange for meeting my high expectations, I've always trusted my current project or company leadership. Our interests are aligned, so it's easy. So far, prioritizing equity has paid off. When I left the self driving car project for Zipline, right before it spun off as Waymo, my manager's manager asked me why I was considering leaving. On top of the exciting technical challenges, I mentioned the calculations I had done. I negotiated an offer that had the same expected value, but Zipline's upside was significantly higher. The manager thought it was crazy at the time. When I took the Zipline offer, It was a solid 25% decrease in salary. 7 years later that manager is at another company; several of my friends that stayed at Waymo are now laid off, and others that weren't have been casually looking for new opportunities. Meanwhile I've been having a blast and only have wonderful things to say.