Silicon Valley work culture

slo town

slo town

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Y'all:

I spent my entire career on the Silicon Valley treadmill; a life of technical challenges, aggressive schedules, and never ending deadlines.

Here's an interesting story about an AI startup that's offering a seemingly generous buyout to those unwilling to work 6 days, 80+ hours per week.

I don't think I've ever seen an offer like this before. During my career era a company would simply lay you off if they felt you "weren't with the program".

FWIW,

Scott

https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/sf-tech-ceo-buyouts-culture-20805250.php
 
I'm sure @slo town will agree with much of this... He can offer his point of view where we differ.
This is a wonderful place, but certainly is not for everyone. I call it the place that chews up people and spits out $$.

What there is here, is unbound opportunity, but that opportunity comes with a cost. And there are no guarantees!
You don't have to work a bazillion hours, but if you want the golden handcuffs (stock options and grants) you have to be responsible for something important, very important, to the C-Level staff.
There are no guarantees those options will be worth anything; back in the day companies could be on a hot streak and then be gone due to better technology.

In my case, I did not consider the work hard, because sitting in an AC office, in clean clothes, and getting a nice check is far easier than working out in the hot sun busting your rear for chump change, and then drinking it all away.

But if you are lucky enough to be a good fit at the right company, you just might hit the jackpot. Some used options to buy BMWs and shop at Macys and Nordys. I let mine roll; I became an insider in the company because I coded the corporate forecast and revenue applications.

I started at Lam in the early 90's. Left after 5 years to do a startup that went belly up. Oops. Novellus hired me for the next 17 years until Lam bought us. Worked another 5 at Lam and then finished up at Symantec (yuck!). Got my education paid for. Traveled the world. Worked with some incredibly bright people. I loved every minute of it. This place is magic.

1754672240192.webp
 
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slo town said:
Y'all:

I spent my entire career on the Silicon Valley treadmill; a life of technical challenges, aggressive schedules, and never ending deadlines.

Here's an interesting story about an AI startup that's offering a seemingly generous buyout to those unwilling to work 6 days, 80+ hours per week.

I don't think I've ever seen an offer like this before. During my career era a company would simply lay you off if they felt you "weren't with the program".

FWIW,

Scott

https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/sf-tech-ceo-buyouts-culture-20805250.php
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I'm not in tech but utilities. I've seen substantial severance packages that exceed what's listed here but not by a large margin. I also left my previous employer due to excessive overtime. The low man on my former crew was still >1000hrs/yr of ot with several >2,000hrs. It was a room of very high performance individuals and "type A" personalities. Pay was exceptional (over double what I currently receive which still isn't anything to shake a stick at) but retirement benefits lacked several perks. That job did feed my ego but was going to cause a divorce. I made the choice to leave to my current role so I could maintain a stable family life and not lose all the extra income to a divorce settlement like so many others.

All that said, a young & single person who is willing to put in the work can earn enough in these types of roles to set themselves up with outside investments (real estate, stock or something else) to supplement their income when they decide to settle down. Too many get addicted to the ot money though and get trapped in an endless loop of earn/spend.

Good topic
 
Seems odd to me too. I guess, it's about trying not to burn bridges?

Start-ups are kinda unique. I can see "expecting" people there to work crazy hours. If they want the chance to score big as part of an IPO, or to score lots of stock, then that is the cost.

But I sure wouldn't want to work there. I already don't have much of a life, I wouldn't need my job to be doing what it could to further remove that life. For a few years? maybe when I was younger. But now I'd rather accept lower pay with more job stability--lots of start-ups fail to succeed, or don't hit that home run as hoped for.

Don't forget, just firing people causes morale issues for everyone left. They worry about if they are next. That can spur productivity--but also people looking for the door. A double edged sword.
 
supton said:
Seems odd to me too. I guess, it's about trying not to burn bridges?

Start-ups are kinda unique. I can see "expecting" people there to work crazy hours. If they want the chance to score big as part of an IPO, or to score lots of stock, then that is the cost.

But I sure wouldn't want to work there. I already don't have much of a life, I wouldn't need my job to be doing what it could to further remove that life. For a few years? maybe when I was younger. But now I'd rather accept lower pay with more job stability--lots of start-ups fail to succeed, or don't hit that home run as hoped for.

Don't forget, just firing people causes morale issues for everyone left. They worry about if they are next. That can spur productivity--but also people looking for the door. A double edged sword.
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Another characteristic of the Valley is layoffs. Feast or famine.
Regarding work hours, I believe it is up to each of us to take personal responsibility. If the pressure is too much, find another job. One of the best guys I ever worked with was a straight 8-5 guy; Bob was a great family guy, 5 kids, coached little league, etc. He was such a great asset to the company; he very well rewarded.

I worked a lotta hours; a big reason for that was the challenge to complete the task that everyone said was not possible. It was possible; they were just doing it wrong, IMO. My projects went on for years.

You hafta produce; go big or go home. And you will be sent home if you mess up.
 
Yeah, I've not quite sure how I've managed. I'm far enough removed from the 495 tech corridor, but technically the company was head quarted down there when I started work, so I'm kinda connected to that scene. And so far, I've seen two VSIP's and at least two RIF's (and the dismantling of a couple of mergers, lots of layoffs there). Company has to do what it has to do to keep going. I'm hoping to get another decade in as I really don't want the commute to a big city... then I have no idea.
 
Live to work vs work to live. If someone wants to work long hours (and the pros and cons to match) then that's all cool with me. I'm in the latter though.

Interesting that they're offering such a huge severance package.
 
Pew said:
Live to work vs work to live. If someone wants to work long hours (and the pros and cons to match) then that's all cool with me. I'm in the latter though.

Interesting that they're offering such a huge severance package.
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It's not really work if you love what you are doing. I tell perspective candidates, "The person who comes here should not do so for the money; they should come here because they really want to do something." But yeah, it's all about production, deadlines, etc. In my case, the executive staff told me to tell them if my code was not ready; it had to be right and they trusted and depended on me. Sometimes I had to tell those steel eyed hard nosed execs, "No." I trembled and could barely mutter out the words. They told me, "Ok." and went about their multi million deals with the chip makers of the world.

The severance packages are to avoid lawsuits. And lawsuits are part of doing business around here.
 
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JeffKeryk said:
I tell perspective candidates, "The person who comes here should not do so for the money; they should come here because they really want to do something."
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If the purpose isn't for money, then what was the reason behind going to college and racking up student debt in the first place? Lovely thought that people would be doing things out of the kindness of their hearts--reality is, most have mortgage payments to make.

JeffKeryk said:
It's not really work if you love what you are doing.
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You can love it all you want, but in a global economy, you're competing against lower wage workers. Right now it's all up in the air (as it always was, could pivot at any moment), but if it can be done cheaper by someone else...
 
Worked in tech for 10 years. The long hours and high travel ratio had started to interfere with family life. Being on the road so much wasn't very healthy - restaurant foods and alcohol were starting to get to me.

I quit and redid my career in a completely different field. Now I'm ready for early retirement.
 
supton said:
If the purpose isn't for money, then what was the reason behind going to college and racking up student debt in the first place? Lovely thought that people would be doing things out of the kindness of their hearts--reality is, most have mortgage payments to make.


You can love it all you want, but in a global economy, you're competing against lower wage workers. Right now it's all up in the air (as it always was, could pivot at any moment), but if it can be done cheaper by someone else...
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Of course money is important, but to be good you have to be motovated by the work as well. My point is, if you love what you are doing, love the challenge, etc, it is not work as much as it is your passion. Work is working with you back out in the hot sun for low wage. My college was mostly paid for by my employer. No debt and they actually gave me time off for classes hard to get. They also offered post grad work, but I was too old and tired of school.

I was not competing against lower paid workers. I was competing against highly paid workers. When lower paid programmers came in from off shore, I was tasked with training many of them. No one takes my job; it is mine to keep if I want it. Competition makes me better.
 
What kept me on the Silicon Valley treadmill was the money. Besides my salary I was regularly rewarded with stock options. But there were other perks as well. One of the more bizarre ones I received was during a secret project I worked on with three others. We were a tight knit, highly specialized team.

The project, although relatively short duration (about 2 months), was ambitious and required us to run full scale load testing on seven large mainframe systems. We actually had a dedicated lab and systems built for the project.

We put in some long hours for that project and were getting some good visibility from those in the company who knew about it. One night about 2AM one of the company VPs walked in, totally unexpected. I remember us thinking "What is HE doing here?!"

The VP walked in and thanked us for our hard work. Then he pulled out $10,000 checks for each one of us (and these were much more valuable early '90s dollars). Then, as quickly as he appeared, he disappeared into the night. Bizarre.

Silicon Valley is a unique place.

Scott

A picture of me on that project.

Scott at work in 1991.webp
 
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Vercingetorix said:
I laugh at 80 hrs a week in an air conditioned office building sitting on a chair in front of a monitor. Any guy running his own yard service, or picking fruit works way harder for way less pay. And it is about 1000x more dangerous.
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I can't say I disagree with your statement, but not everyone can be a surgeon, an airline pilot, or a systems engineer. It's all about a person's skill set (both native and taught) and how the labor market rewards that particular skill set.

Scott
 
Vercingetorix said:
I laugh at 80 hrs a week in an air conditioned office building sitting on a chair in front of a monitor. Any guy running his own yard service, or picking fruit works way harder for way less pay. And it is about 1000x more dangerous.
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Spot on. Not to mention free coffee, sodas, food, a gym. Health benefits...
My last company had free EV charging.
 
Vercingetorix said:
It’s not the earnings at all. It’s the lack of opportunity. In most of the world there is no opportunity to advance yourself.
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I suggest Silicon Valley is pretty unique in that regard. In most of America, where could you quit drinking at 33, go back to school, get it paid for, and end up, well let's just say I will die with money.
In most places I could have gotten a job, but it would be pretty hard to match what the Valley offered me. And thousands of others...
 
JeffKeryk said:
Spot on. Not to mention free coffee, sodas, food, a gym. Health benefits...
My last company had free EV charging.
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Well, MY company used to send us away for 3 or 4 day long "meetings". One year they sent 500 of us engineer types at an uber fancy resort in Arizona. Let's just say we partied and no expense was spared. The things that went on that weekend...OMG. :oops:

Scott

PS Smiling at ya with the "MY" @JeffKeryk.
 
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