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by Jasper_ 1510 days ago
The fast-paced "fail upwards" where you get a new job at a new FAANG every few months while leaving a trail of destruction in your wake astounds me, and I don't understand how it works and how companies keep falling for it.

There are a lot of excellent ex-FAANG programmers I've worked with, and a lot of terrible ones, and my experience is that usually the ones with the most prestigious titles show up, do 3 months of junior level work which we end up having to rip out later, and then leave to their next high-paying gig.
2 comments
pavlov 1510 days ago
This is entirely the fault of the FAANG hiring methods of which most managers at these companies are very proud because they provide such excellent “signal”.

But the upside is that it’s a competitive advantage for startups that intentionally build different hiring pipelines.

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filoleg 1510 days ago
> This is entirely the fault of the FAANG hiring methods

I would say it is more of a fault of compensation structures.

Why would one stay for 3 years and get very meh comp increases every year, when they can switch to another company and instantly get a 30-40%+ increase (up to a point). It is also somewhat disheartening to see new hires get paid significantly more than you are for the same level.

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raincom 1510 days ago
Do people leave FAANG jobs every three months? I thought they stay there for three years to get promotions and then leave
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civilized 1510 days ago
They take three years to do the three months of junior-level work.
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21723 1510 days ago
The ones who do 3 months of actual work get fired because their overperformance scares the boss. But less than 2 weeks of actual work and you're an underperformer. The sweet spot is probably the geometric mean of the two.
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chii 1509 days ago
> their overperformance scares the boss

i just don't understand this at all - why would someone who is working for you be a threat? They cannot take your job - it's not like them being a good programmer would somehow make them a good dev manager or "boss".

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civilized 1509 days ago
It's common for high performers to get promoted as a "reward" regardless of management ability.
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