Poll: Why don't you want to work at FAANG?

Yeah, it's straight up all of the above.

I put I don't believe in the mission, but that doesn't entirely capture it, nor does "I'd be a number/cog". It's more that modern big companies (and many startups, especially VC funded ones that are really just an extension of big tech) are not really about doing interesting technical work, in fact are almost the opposite- about playing the right politics, signaling the right things, putting up with all kinds of HR and other bureaucratic nonsense for no reason. Maybe that's what a white collar job is, but overall it's not appealing to me.

I suggest adding "I believe it's immoral to do so" to the list. This is close to "I don't believe their mission (if any)", but IMO there's a difference between believing that their mission isn't all that great, and believing that their mission is actively detrimental.

I believe it's immoral to do so

Would love to hear reasons for Apple, specifically the morals/value aspect

What about “can’t stand big tech companies?”

It feels like FAANG has become what it rose up against. They seem to be an extension of the government, and control. They mean well but paradoxically make things worse. The employees I’ve spoken to from any of these places are filled with arrogance, elitist, disconnected from reality, and yet miserable. Big companies are hell, filled with bureaucracy and incompetence and my impression is FAANG is no different. The censorship they’ve conducted is making a permanent scar.

The only reason to work for them at this point is money, and these days you can find the same pay (if not better in some cases) at west coast tech companies outside of FAANG.

I want a work life balance, I don’t want to live in the shitty Bay Area, I don’t want to grind leetcode, I don’t want to work with the kind of people who post on blind or levels.io, and mostly I just don’t have to.

It’s sad that the best minds of this generation are working to harvest personal data and peddle ads. Whole lot of problems that are more worthwhile and also yield big bucks. But they’re harder, and taking the easy money tends to win out.

I have profitable side projects and it seems they are always side-project averse.

Can we add PM(s) as a response... That's what led to my last departure from a FAANG company. I was sick of dealing with non-technical PMs who had no idea what they were talking about.

Where is the option for "I am not good enough" lol

I mean all FAANG has morphed into is ads, content and monetization and selling you things. New tech coming from there is also how that can be monetized . The kind of folks who went into derivatives in 2001 are now going to FAANG (and burning man) . Blind, levels.fyi comparing and fitting in. *Maybe I am biased since I have mental health issues and got PIPed from one because of that.Or concurrently got burned out from one .

Given this is HN, this poll would be more complete if it also had these options:

1. I already work at FAANG + Microsoft

2. I used to work at FAANG + Microsoft, now I’m moving on to other things

3. I will attempt to work there in the future.

4. There are no meaningful jobs at FAANG + Microsoft for my career/field/specialization

5. I am happy where I am and don’t feel a need to move

6. I am making a trade off for family/kids in school/geography/bigger houses/other reasons

This should create a more balanced poll.

I already work for a company of similar size but always missing from the acronym.

It's taught me that these companies are less about the tech and doing it well, and more about sales/advertising and the like.

Most of my day is spent dealing with bureaucracy and convincing people of the obvious choice - because they hadn't learned this before joining.

We sell tech instead of ads, so it fits a little bit better with my principles. I just wish we focused a bit more on doing good work as a whole