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No, it doesn't have to be dull. In fact, huge companies are more likely to have interesting technical problems than startups. The value of most startups is in t
by sterlind 3y ago
No, it doesn't have to be dull. In fact, huge companies are more likely to have interesting technical problems than startups. The value of most startups is in their business plan, not their codebase. The code is just there to sketch out a rough prototype of the idea. Startups rarely have the time or money to sink on deep theoretical research. Also, few startups operate at a scale where they actually need fancy tech.
Consider Google: they invented Borg, MapReduce, GFS, etc. because of their sheer scale. Microsoft (disclaimer: I work here) has MSR. Xerox had PARC. There's tons of fascinating tech buried inside, things you'll never find at start-ups.
It's easy to become invisible and embed yourself into your team's narrow silo, but you can make a monumental impact by doing the opposite of that.
- marssaxman 3y agoI have worked for both of the companies you mention, hoping to get involved with the interesting technical problems they are famous for, and in each case I was disappointed. What I observed was that you cannot really get a job doing the interesting work, not directly, because a megacorp does not hire for those positions; those core jobs go to trusted veteran insiders. The organization grows from its edge, not its center; as a newbie, you will most likely be assigned to some minor piece of functionality extending the outlying periphery of whatever it was you actually wanted to work on. If you can stomach that for however many years it takes to build up an internal reputation, you may eventually be able to move inward toward the job you actually wanted; but there is no guarantee this will be possible.
- badpun 3y agoThis makes sense. In software, there's fairly small amount of really interesting work, and an endless ocean of mundane drudgery otherwise. Giving the interesting work to your high-performing veterans as a non-monetary reward is your best bet to get good results, and to retain them.