Elite companies != fulfilling, balanced careers
I’m surprised.
There’s still so much content on the internet, written every day, about how to get a job at the tech giants.
For most developers, working at one of the giants — Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google (FAANG) — will not make them happy, fulfilled, or even satisfied. More likely, you’ll end up stressed, undervalued, and feeling like a cog in the machine.
It’s sad because these companies are ethically questionable, at best.
They take profits from capturing attention, exploiting workers, and selling our personal data.
Some examples:
- Facebook is in large part responsible for polarization of society, echoing news stories that radicalize the population. Their own internal research shows that products like Instagram are causing mental health issues for young girls.
- Amazon is known worldwide for its anti-competitive practices, first killing independent bookstores and eventually compromising small businesses worldwide. It’s also known for union busting and treating its workers terrible. Even within software development, Amazon has a bad reputation as a grinding…
