[brianpgordon]

I'm excited to be starting in Mountain View soon but I'm pretty apprehensive about having an effective orientation and getting up to speed if everyone's working from home. I've read that orientation is supposed to be a big event where you meet tons of people from around the world and learn together about internal Google tech and culture. I would hate to miss out on that experience because of the coronavirus fears.

[altgoogler]

Googler here.

Yes, orientation week is nice and you do get to meet a lot of people from offices around the world. You'd sit through a lot of training that introduces you to Google culture. You get to be in a room of a whole bunch of people that are experiencing the same impostor syndrome as you are.

So, yes, missing it will be a bummer.

You will, however, have plenty of other chances. There's still plenty of opportunity to learn, and your team will give you lots of guidance. It'll feel like you are lost, but believe me, most people will feel like that during their first few months at Google anyway.

Take your time, and invest in yourself. Ask for help when you need it. Have a plan for feeling like you are not contributing. You will be; it just takes time.

The best thing you can do as a Noogler now is stay home unless asked. The fewer people who are on main campus makes it safer for the people that do really need to be there. I'll be at home also.

Or, as Sundar tweeted: "Contributing to social distancing if you are able to, helps the overall community spread and most importantly, will help offset the peak loads through critical healthcare systems and also saves it for people in need."

[philsnow]

It's a bit of gool-aid drinking. You'll be fine :)

The only moment I remember of that week was them handing me my badge on the first or second day.

[closeparen]

I went through big-global-company orientation three times (intern, FTE, 6 month follow up). Every single time I got sick. Spending all day in a room with unfamiliar pathogens from 50 countries is risky under the best of circumstances.

[tdeck]

Another Googler (joined late 2016). I would say that the orientation has been pretty scripted for a while given the volume of new candidates. It's actually other of the things I would expect to go most smoothly over GVC (video conference) or live stream. Meeting your actual team and learning from them by overhearing conversations and answering questions is going to be the real challenge. I recommend asking to be added to more meetings than you usually would, so you have maximum opportunity to call in and absorb information.

[gonehome]

They might push out your start date.

I've been on mandatory WFH (not Google, but Bay Area) starting last week and start dates have been pushed out for now.

This might change though if things go on for months, I think people are reevaluating on a weekly basis as we learn more.

[jeromegv]

You would miss on that experience because of the risk of contamination within your peers, not because of the "fear".

[brianpgordon]

I didn't mean to imply that such precautions aren't prudent.

[gowld]

It's mostly training classes that are equally valuable some remotely, plus some "forced fun" events and playing with the campus toys. It might be healthier to miss it and avoid getting the misleading summer college experience of (dis)orientation.

[azakai]

Yes, it's not optimal, but based on my experience I think you'll be fine without the normal orientation.

I would worry more about the actual crisis the world is going through (not that I'm saying you need to be overly worried, just that in context, that's the bigger issue).

[freepor]

You mean you would hate to miss out on that experience to avoid spreading a deadly contagion?

[dang]

"Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith."

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html