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This is how big orgs ALWAYS work. You have to get used to it or go back to the startup trenches. The startup pace can be grueling, it can have terrible hours,

This is how big orgs ALWAYS work. You have to get used to it or go back to the startup trenches. The startup pace can be grueling, it can have terrible hours, it can be unrewarding, but at least you're always working. At big orgs with plenty of funding you just sort of marvel at how so many people can accomplish so little. Everyone is always blocked by another team or some arcane bureaucratic process. It never ends and it never gets better. The good news is you're probably well compensated and have complete job security. The bad news is you're at heightened risk for existential crisis.

noirbot 3y ago
The other aspect of it is that with a big company, it's often much more about choosing what is valuable to work on vs. just doing everything you can put your hands on. Large organizations generate large numbers of requests and suggestions, many of which aren't worth anyone's time. You're usually not working on a project where you're needing to add new features or fix bugs ASAP or else the company disappears. The low-hanging fruit of time spent to value created has already been picked years or decades ago. Ironically, part of the point of having so many people accomplish so little is agility. It's the HR equivalent of owning a gigabit internet line when you're mostly browsing HN and checking your email. Most of the time, it's a waste and no doing anything for you, but when you need it, you don't want to be calling your ISP to try to upgrade. Having tens of "hot spare" engineers who are already used to the product and system who can jump on a big product need on a week's notice can be worth paying them the rest of the time to do very little. It doesn't mean you're going to feel like you're solving amazing problems every day, but it doesn't mean those other engineers aren't sharp people who can get through a meaningful ticket when it needs to be done. They just know when it doesn't need to be done.

noirbot 3y ago

The other aspect of it is that with a big company, it's often much more about choosing what is valuable to work on vs. just doing everything you can put your hands on. Large organizations generate large numbers of requests and suggestions, many of which aren't worth anyone's time. You're usually not working on a project where you're needing to add new features or fix bugs ASAP or else the company disappears. The low-hanging fruit of time spent to value created has already been picked years or decades ago. Ironically, part of the point of having so many people accomplish so little is agility. It's the HR equivalent of owning a gigabit internet line when you're mostly browsing HN and checking your email. Most of the time, it's a waste and no doing anything for you, but when you need it, you don't want to be calling your ISP to try to upgrade. Having tens of "hot spare" engineers who are already used to the product and system who can jump on a big product need on a week's notice can be worth paying them the rest of the time to do very little. It doesn't mean you're going to feel like you're solving amazing problems every day, but it doesn't mean those other engineers aren't sharp people who can get through a meaningful ticket when it needs to be done. They just know when it doesn't need to be done.