4 ms·

How secretive is something that Google trots whenever they want some goodwill? I think I've seen an "article" about Google X every six months for the last 3 yea

by jmelloy 13y ago

How secretive is something that Google trots whenever they want some goodwill? I think I've seen an "article" about Google X every six months for the last 3 years.

habosa 13y ago
Honestly pretty damn secretive. I worked at Google for the summer and that was the only building on the campus I couldn't go into (I could even go right up to Larry's office door but not to X). My good friend was an intern on X and he never told me a word about what he worked on or who he worked with. That's just an intern. So even though they do reveal some projects for PR once in a while, it's definitely a very secretive part of an otherwise fairly transparent company.
- Oculus 13y ago
  That's crazy. Did your friend mention how he managed to land the internship? Was it a software based role?
  - habosa 13y ago
    He was a student at a design school (I believe it was the Art Center [1] in Pasadena). Incredibly talented at designing cars and also an insane work ethic. 99% sure he was on the self driving car project as an industrial designer but he never confirmed. He said they came to his school to find someone. For a normal job you can go to Google, but from what I've heard Google X comes to you. They know who they want. 1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Center_College_of_Design http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Center_College_of_Design
    - hatred 13y ago
      That might be true for niche fields like designing. For other customary roles like software engineering at Google X. I don't think this is the norm. Source: My co-worker sitting besides me used to work at X as an engineer.
ChuckMcM 13y ago
Same page as the one any secretive organization uses, don't tell anyone anything unless you need a PR boost then trot out some program that meets the need. Has worked for IBM in the past, works for Google, heck it even works for the CIA.

by jmelloy 13y ago

How secretive is something that Google trots whenever they want some goodwill? I think I've seen an "article" about Google X every six months for the last 3 years.

habosa 13y ago

Honestly pretty damn secretive. I worked at Google for the summer and that was the only building on the campus I couldn't go into (I could even go right up to Larry's office door but not to X). My good friend was an intern on X and he never told me a word about what he worked on or who he worked with. That's just an intern. So even though they do reveal some projects for PR once in a while, it's definitely a very secretive part of an otherwise fairly transparent company.

Oculus 13y ago
That's crazy. Did your friend mention how he managed to land the internship? Was it a software based role?
- habosa 13y ago
  He was a student at a design school (I believe it was the Art Center [1] in Pasadena). Incredibly talented at designing cars and also an insane work ethic. 99% sure he was on the self driving car project as an industrial designer but he never confirmed. He said they came to his school to find someone. For a normal job you can go to Google, but from what I've heard Google X comes to you. They know who they want. 1 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Center_College_of_Design http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Center_College_of_Design
  - hatred 13y ago
    That might be true for niche fields like designing. For other customary roles like software engineering at Google X. I don't think this is the norm. Source: My co-worker sitting besides me used to work at X as an engineer.

ChuckMcM 13y ago

Same page as the one any secretive organization uses, don't tell anyone anything unless you need a PR boost then trot out some program that meets the need. Has worked for IBM in the past, works for Google, heck it even works for the CIA.