I am an ex -google and Meta Engineer – I prefer the most stressful work

This characteristic test is based on a conversation with Ritendra Datta, a software engineer based in the San Francisco Bay region. It has been changed for duration and clarity.

I worked at Google from 2010 to 2019, then I went to Meta for a little over four years.

If I look at it strictly from the point of view of engineering, my first years at Google were the best in my career. The company felt extremely focused on the mission and I was inspired as a manufacturer.

In Meta, I worked for more hours and I experienced higher stress levels, but not necessarily in the wrong direction. In fact, working for Meta has been a better experience overall than working at Google.

I loved Google, but I saw the business culture change

My first years at Google had a rare mixture of being well funded and feeling motivated by a mission, not profit. Google was slow, stable and cautious with everything he deployed. I knew the ins and outs of everything that my team worked on.

I spent my first four years working from the Google Pittsburgh office, where we had table football tables, food options and areas to spend time. No one cared if I spent an hour or two blocking with colleagues from the music room, and I loved it.

I think the company bet that very inspired and well -intentioned engineers build impressive things, whether they operated 10 or four.

Google was completely different when I went to the View Mountain office

I went to the Google Mountain View office because I was tired of winters on the east coast and I thought there would be more opportunities. This location had equipment such as lap swimming pools and volleyball courts, but people seemed more in mind and focused on work. I think that was partly due to differences between the East Coast and Silicon Valley, and partly due to a cultural change within the company to competition.

After almost a decade, I started to feel complacent. I repeated the same tasks, collaborated with the same people and I was no longer learned. I finally left Google and accepted an offer with Meta in 2019 due to a salary increase and the hope of growing as an engineer.

I started working at Meta and immediately felt the difference

Meta’s motto at the time of my hiring was “moving quickly and breaking things”, and I felt it immediately. The second when I felt like I understood something, they said: “Pilons, let’s drop this, let’s change the priorities.” We have often failed, but the amount we innovated prevailed.

I felt good stress when we jostled to build a convincing product, and our motivation was clear. On the other hand, I felt bad stress when I did not understand the motivation behind certain strategic changes and I had to join my team behind a strict chronology that I did not even understand.

I think a lot of people who come from Google never really adapt to this change, but I think I have adapted well.

I have known professional exhaustion in both companies, in a completely different way

Somewhere around the middle of my career at Google, I started to worry about late. Outside, it seemed that I had an illustrious career, but what people do not see are the patches of very slow progress and extreme frustration. The pressure I felt to progress in my career exhausted me.

The professional exhaustion I had in Meta was for moral reasons. In 2021, Meta was under control when a denunciator presented scathing documents on the speech of hatred and the misinformation that Meta allowed. It made me ask me if I was fighting the right fight and that I was building a better society.

I had a lot of doubts about my career and I didn’t even want to go to work despite a big team to run.

Promotions worked differently on Google and Meta

Google’s promotion process was just right, but it became more competitive, especially after moving to the Mountain View office. I would create a promotion package with my manager, then a whole completely independent of senior officials would examine them.

At Meta, the people who decided on my promotion were either in or peripherals my organization. In addition, it was not only important to do a good job, but you also had to market your work.

We had an internal version of Facebook where people would publish on their achievements, which caused a lot of competition. I became very aware of the visibility of my team because the marketing of our work was just as important as to do it.

I have developed a constant reflection muscle to visibility, and I don’t think it’s in the right direction.

Meta stops more behavior jerky than Google

The feedback process was very strong in Meta. Everyone gave comments on everyone, and if a person was a big idiot, his career would probably be affected.

In addition, the levels of engineering of each were hidden with the exception of certain pivot employees, such as a director or a vice-president, there was therefore no final hierarchy.

At Google, the accent was less placed on the way you collaborate and more on the technical work you have done. People were very public about their level, which means that they could take advantage of their higher status to override the decisions.

I preferred Meta to Google

My first years at Google were incredible. But when I consider the influence, the impact and the monetary gain, the meta was generally the best.

Despite this, I left Meta in 2023 and I accepted a role offer in a startup. I am happy where I am now, but I really believe that the two companies can be incredible places to work.

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