Ask HN: Do you refuse to work for certain companies or industries?

I haven't tested my mettle on this one, but probably the tobacco industry. I can't imagine working for an industry that kills people like that. (Please no morality Olympics - this one feels unambiguously personally objectionable, which is why I picked it out of several examples)

I can imagine working at a company that does things I consider wrong, and treating it in my head as a game of infiltration and reconnaissance. But there are things I find so personally repulsive that I could never, like ad tech or data brokering.

Facebook, for example, they look the other way as their stupid algos cause young girls to have mental problems and consider suicide. That is pure evil IMO.

I do, and it's been tested as well. I won't ever work in gambling, or the "gaming" industry as it is euphemistically being called in India these days. I receive a linkedIn message nearly every week from recruiters for lucrative jobs in gambling startups, and I've told them all the same thing: no matter how much you pay me, I won't work in gambling.

I won't be working with software houses if it can be helped. Sure, some of them place you in companies that actually produce software used and sold to people.

But whenever I've built internal-facing software, it's always been a mix of politics, budget constraints and disingenious requirements that often frustrates me.

I have not consciously done so, but whenever recruiters have called me for positions within finance sector I was never able to give a firm commitment to applying in that sector. I have made quite a monetary loss because of that. I don't know why I do that. May be because I was never comfortable working in big cities and in those high rise glass buildings. I prefer country side living and non-flashy offices that do not destroy the surroundings. And I prefer walking to office. Living in bigger cities robs you of that luxury.

I started my career in the defense industry and I try to avoid it now. On a philosophical level, I wasn't totally comfortable designing weapon systems with the express purpose of killing people. But also on a practical level, the defense industry can be extremely fickle (programs get funded or cancelled based on politics or the endless mergers), slow moving, and is pretty old fashioned with the work style, pay, and perks we take for granted in tech.

When I was graduating from college, Marlboro offered me a job in their management training program to become a manager of something. I turned that down despite they offered me the most money of all my offers.

Top of my list is staying away from 3rd party recruiters. They're like a stereotypical used car salesmen in my opinion.

I don't really keep a solid list, but evaluate stuff when I see a posting or get approached. Off the top of my head I stay away from defense for the bureaucracy; sites with a content/product focus that I wouldn't enjoy working with, like porn, recreational drugs, or tobacco; FANNG because I'm not putting up with their nonsense interviews and wasting my time studying stuff I will likely never use; most startups because I don't care about "like Stripe for X" projects, I don't trust equity compensation, and I want a stable job.

After interning in the defense industry (twice, both as a contractor and a government employee), I’m committed to not returning. Thankfully in CS I have many options, some of my peers in MechE or Aero struggle with their similar opinions as a large portion of jobs in those fields are defense jobs.

I am open to changing my mind, but currently I don't see myself working for Facebook, Google, Twitter, or Amazon.

I will never work for Facebook. I think it's the most evil product and company that exists and that it has hurt humanity significantly more than it has helped.

That doesn't mean each individual part of FB is evil. I'm sure there are some good-willing people and a great projects going on inside. But I could never live with myself supporting a product like this, even just by association.

I won't work for gambling companies, Nestle, or Chinese or Israeli companies. I don't think I'm particularly "moral" I'm just lucky to work in an industry where you can be picky about your employer.

Before stating the bloody obvious that it's a luxury position, I don't want to work for any company who doesn't have a positive social impact. This could be in any form, I just don't believe in the "it should all be profit for the shareholders" attitude.

I do FB ads but have always refused mobile games and gambling. It preys on people with mental illness, most whales are not rich.

I keep a list. There are various reasons for these, ranging from petty and personal to Global Evil:

Google, Disney, the New York Times Co., Salesforce, Amazon, Facebook, Bank of America, Equifax, United Airlines, WeWork, Blizzard, Marriott, Coca-Cola, Basecamp, and anything headquartered in China or owned by a parent that is.

After working in Indian IT companies for approx 10 years, I would never work for consulting/Outsourcing company

I had trepidation before I went to work at a marketing company, it was only when I found out they do tradeshows, and not the scam ridden direct marketing, that I decided to give it a go. 15 years wasn't too bad of a run.

yes

Absolutely. Have done and will do in the future. Rejected jobs from surveillance-companies, ad-tech companies etc.

But I do not try to put myself on a higher moral horse than people who would take those jobs. I can say no because I have two things in place; a moral compass and most importantly; a privileged position in the World where I can afford to say no.

One rule I have is that I won’t work for companies that don’t charge money directly for products/services. No companies that are revenueless, no companies that are ad-supported.

I also avoid anyone without a crystal clear path to profitability. Like selling “premium memberships” that nobody buys and hoping to get acquired isn’t good enough for me. I want to see every customer getting their wallet out.

Working at an unsustainable business isn’t for me anymore.

I used to think it would be cool to work in defense.

That was before I learned how often poor and innocent people are killed in drone strikes.

Now I would never go anywhere near that industry.

I refuse to work with all of them.

Until I have to pay my rent.

So, to me, people saying that won't work for Rio or Fakebook or Tesla or whoever, it means they/we/I that have that luxury.

I tend to think of it like I think of global warming or any other problem of capitalism and crimes against humanity -- your job/lifestyle has some (tiny) effect, but if you actually want to have a different world, you have to do the real work of changing 'the system' -- e.g. in the US, that might be pushing for publicly-funded elections, for public media, against dark money, for rich people to pay taxes, etc.

You work for Wall Street? Madison Avenue? K Street?

eh -- sucks for your conscience, if you have one, but it's not making much difference if/when you decide to cash out and become a virtue-signaling city-hippie -- someone will gladly take your place.

I think a good parallel is thinking of the 'benevolent' (Northern) bankers and the 'evil' (Southern) slaveowners. My reading of history suggests the bankers were at least as evil as the slaveowners.

So next time we're lauding Tesla and condemning Chevron...

While I have the option, yes.

There’s a few Rupert Murdoch owned companies recruiting where I’d be a good fit with the roles, they are one of the few companies building teams with the technology I enjoy working with which is in demand in a few countries but not the one I live in leaving the Murdoch owned companies one of a very small number of options.

Unless I become unemployed and desperate to pay the bills I reluctantly ignore any company owned by him despite actively looking for work.

Similarly gambling, it destroys life’s and the gamification prays on the vulnerable. Gambling provides no benefit to society. Unless I was unemployed with no other options approaching financial hardship, gambling is a hard no.