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Ask HN: What is it like to work at Facebook in your 40s (or older)?

32 points by rabbits77 ↗ HN
I was considering interviewing at Facebook. I am not sure if it is worth the effort though? I am in my late 40s.

What is it like to work at Facebook at this stage of my career? I am presently a very senior engineer and work on r&d projects including new product development as well as presenting at conferences and writing articles on our advances.

While Facebook may pay much better, would I be throwing away a pretty good job just to be paid a ton but work at a much lower level? Is it not Facebook’s strategy to “overhire” in the sense of putting extremely qualified people on what would generally be considered menial tasks?

And what about age discrimination and work/life balance? Do people last at Facebook for longer than a few years? Are parenting and family responsibilities honored?

17 comments

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alsoicode
Instead of Facebook, why not help build applications that positively impact people's lives? Come work with us at Labcorp.

We have plenty of developers in their 40s here and you can do a TON of different things from robotics to AR, AI/ML, APIs, Web Applications, mobile - all with incredible, awesome, smart people.

We have a great work/life balance, good equipment, flexible time off, and many other perks. We're all remote right now and likely will be for quite a while.

https://jobs.labcorp.com/

41209
Is your pay competitive with Facebook.

I know if I ever get an opportunity to work at a FAANG I'm selling my soul until my stock options vest and then I'll try to retire abroad.

eweise
People in their 40's typically have huge financial obligations and money becomes a primary concern. Companies like Facebook pay well above the industry average.
boring_twenties
Facebook might not be angels, but at least they don't facilitate the invasive and dehumanizing practice of involuntary drug screening.

I would prefer not to work for either company, but if forced to choose, I'd go with Facebook every time.

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fallingknife
Sorry, but drug screening is a completely valid and necessary safety measure for many professions, including anyone who works with heavy machinery or industrial equipment. Most jobs are not in silicon valley, and people can be hurt or killed when an employee shows up intoxicated.
boring_twenties
Drug tests of the sort performed by LabCorp don't test whether an employee is showing up to work intoxicated. And they don't apply only to those professions where it's valid and/or necessary, but to pretty much any where the employer feels they can get away with it.
RhysU
Why would an employer test employees, at the company's cost, unless they felt like it was in the company's long-term financial or regulatory interests?
alsoicode
We actually do randomized tests for intoxication of employees
wccrawford
I just looked at your jobs list on your web site, and when you select "IT", you get a lot of non-IT jobs like Phlebotomist and Accounts Receivable Specialist. I think if you want people to take you seriously, you should fix that.
aoiwelle
It really depends on how they level you, which you won't really know until you engage with them and interview. It's less likely you'll be presenting at conferences and writing articles on what you're doing at Facebook, though not impossible.

Work/life balance isn't as good as other FAANG, but not necessarily awful, though it depends on team. There seems to be good leave and a general support for parenting and family responsibilities, but I can't speak too well since I'm not a parent. If you learn about their parental leave, that should give a reasonable idea of how they value parenting.

If you don't think there's an amount of money you can get paid to not be the "biggest fish", then it may just be worth getting an offer to request a raise at your current company. Regardless of how you feel, I think it's totally worth interviewing with Facebook, to learn about the company and what they value.

bob33212
I would also recommend interviewing. I've interviewed at most of the big ones. It has been an interesting experience, even though it was never a good fit.

If you should take the extra money depends on your personal situation. Personally, I worked at a company because of the money and work/life balance for 4 years. I somewhat regret it, but if I hadn't have done that it potentially could have cost me millions that I have now, which have put me in a much better place stress wise.

fberthrowaway
Current FB employee. Opinions are my own.

For me, FB is a great place to work. It's easily the best in terms of comp, leadership caring about employee well-being, career advanced, internal mobility, that I've experienced in 20 years in the workforce. I'm around 40 years old, I work on challenging problems, and feel like I'm making a significant positive impact in the world.

HN is probably not a great place to get this information - I expect this thread will devolve quickly. I suggest you work w/ your FB recruiter to connect with current FB employees, so you can ask them directly - there's a program where you can shop for a current employee who will answer any/all questions you have.

If you put an email in your profile, I'd be happy to connect.

fberthrowaway
Followup - FB is very family friendly! Most teams are developing their remote work policies, and I frequently hear discussions around coordinating meeting times so they aren't setup during school dropoff/pickup times. The company also has generous parental leave policy (4 months, dads also get this). There are other benefits and policies that specifically address parental challenges, and the health care coverage has blown both my and my partner's minds with how good it is.
twox2
Serious question: What positive impact do you feel like you are making on the world?
huhtenberg
> I'm making a significant positive impact in the world.

You must be joking.

piotrus
Why would that be a problem? The average user is over 50.