software engineer

data scientist

senior software engineer

program manager

recruitment resourcer

Meta

My FB org hired extremely over-qualified employees to create a never-ending dog and pony show. I cannot stress this enough, the work itself was almost entirely meaningless, and they knew it. The emphasis was on projecting the illusion to higher leadership that the org was useful and worthy of additional resources. 
Information provided during the hiring process (including job responsibilities and potential transfer, advancement, and location options) proved to be untrue. Management had no shame when it came to establishing unrealistic expectations and could quickly devolve into pettiness if called out for it. Honest feedback was never welcomed, only compliance. We were expected to smile and be pleasant at all times, regardless of how much unimpactful work was heaped upon us (and often demanded urgently). I was told at one point "this is tech, where everyone fakes it until they make it," which I found disgusting and untrue. Tech did not get to where it is today by only pretending to offer value.
The horrible performance review process required employees and managers to rate one another (not anonymously), and a certain number of workers were required to fail, regardless of performance. The managers would formally gather to argue over which employees could meet expectations, which equated to rewarding employees with a reputation for being smiley and compliant. Mentioning or trying to fix problems (aka innovating) painted a target on workers' backs. 
The amount of bureaucracy, inflexibility, inefficiency, and substandard software was shocking for a tech company. The mixed messaging was a joke. Corporate guidance and training would tell you to do things like lead from the bottom and focus on impact, but three layers of managers who were little more than used car salesmen would swiftly come down hard on you if you acted outside the bounds of their micromanagement. 
Some of the employees also behaved like entitled activists who constantly demanded that the company further their chosen social causes. It was scary to see people wanting to use what are essentially very powerful marketing and propaganda platforms to influence the public based on their personal opinions. Many also refused to acknowledge criticism of the company or its "mission," regardless of how many malign actors misused the platforms.
The top-notch pay and benefits were not enough to overcome all of the totally preventable problems and questionable leadership behaviors.

Oculus is a fantastic place to work; the community at Oculus is extremely passionate about products they/we develop and push to market. My colleagues and supervisor care deeply not just about the success of the collective team, but the success of each individual. It can occasionally be challenging to wait for the dust to settle before moving onto the next big endeavor, but folks are quick to learn. 

A typical day would be arriving to the office between 8-9 a.m., and catching up on emails while eating breakfast/drinking coffee. After that, I generally task out my day, and begin grinding it out. Most of my colleagues are based in the bay area or LA, so much of my day is also spent collaborating/working with folks over video-conference. The culture of the office is laid back but respectful. Oculus has strong social good and diversity initiatives, and it makes me (and others, I presume) feel comfortable about bringing all of who I am to work each day.

The hardest part about the job is maintaining boundaries around work and life/family. Sometimes sacrifice is required, and sometimes, I've learned, it's okay to say no, or troubleshoot other options. While this was more of a challenge in my first couple of months, I have become better at listening to my own limits, and using my professional judgment to decide when I am able to give more.

The best part of my job is getting to use all of my experiences (from graduate school, social/personal experiences, personal interests, and beyond) to drive my passion for social good. The technology we sell to the public is a game-changer; it has the capacity to help some paraplegics regain motor function in their legs. It helps folks understand a story from the inside, as opposed to watching it from a distance. It is a tool used to train people in managing stress and anxiety. It brings people from across the world into one room. What could be better than envisioning ways to increase access to that technology, and then executing?

You are a scheduler, not a coordinator. Their long term goal is to automate scheduling and they are almost there. Developing “partnerships” with interviewers = being able to to ping them for availability and get a quick reply. XFN collaboration = giving feedback to interviewer, intern, or scheduling tools program managers. Some of the most complex work available includes: updating/organizing internal documentation (someone’s always creating new “centralized locations” for things); piloting new scheduling tools and providing feedback; onboarding teammates; planning intern events under the supervision of a program manager who has the final say; planning team meetings and icebreakers; presenting scheduling data to hiring managers (maybe 1 out of every 20 coords is given this “privilege”). 

There are very few promotions because there is never any “scope” for complex or strategic work. Roadmapping/Goals come straight from the top with little to no input from coordinators actually doing the work because even though we are part of “Candidate Experience” we are really just human calendar clickers and email senders. Strategic plans for improving candidate experience are focused on one thing: hiring speed and candidate survey scores. 

If you are hoping to use this job to get into sourcing/recruiting/program managing, good luck. Even at the height of recruiting during the pandemic, maybe a handful of coords out of hundreds and hundreds were able to make that jump. Now that recruiting and by extension, coordination, has been gutted, the role will be even more relegated to scheduling and low stakes administrative work. 

If you want an easy, relaxed job with zero responsibility, nice co-workers, amazing benefits (mat leave, PTO, wellness money) and you can get in now that everyone’s been laid off, this is the role for you! Your brain will rot from the simplicity but it pays the bills and you’ll have tons of energy for your hobbies and life outside of work. This is a job, not a career. 

Working at Meta has been an incredible experience, both professionally and personally. From the moment I joined, the company’s emphasis on innovation, collaboration, and inclusivity has been evident in everything we do.

Pros:

Innovative Work Environment: Meta is at the forefront of cutting-edge technologies. Whether it's working on AI, virtual reality, or social media advancements, the company fosters a culture of creativity and encourages employees to think big and take risks.
Career Growth Opportunities: There’s a strong focus on career development here. Meta offers numerous opportunities for learning and professional growth, including mentorship programs, workshops, and access to world-class resources. Internal mobility is also a big plus, as employees are encouraged to explore different roles within the company.
Work-Life Balance: While the workload can be demanding at times, Meta offers flexibility that allows employees to balance their personal lives with work. Remote work options and flexible hours have been a game-changer for many.
Compensation and Benefits: The compensation package is competitive, with generous salaries, stock options, and excellent health benefits. Additionally, Meta provides great perks like wellness programs, fitness reimbursements, and a variety of employee discounts.
Culture: The company prides itself on fostering an inclusive, diverse, and open culture. Teams collaborate seamlessly across departments, and there’s a real sense of camaraderie. The leadership is approachable, and the company regularly seeks feedback to improve the work environment.
Cons:

Fast-Paced and Demanding: While the dynamic environment can be exciting, it can also be overwhelming at times. Projects often have tight deadlines, and the constant push for innovation can sometimes lead to burnout if you’re not careful.


Facebook will pay you well and has amazing benefits.  You'll also learn a ton of skills working at Facebook.  I strongly encourage everyone to work at Facebook, but to understand that it will burn you out completely so you shouldn't try to stay for too long.  I don't regret working at Facebook but I wouldn't do it again.

I was salaried and almost never worked less than 60 hours a week.  My reviews were always great and my whole team worked as hard as I did.

I transferred to a new department, it was technically a lateral move but the new job had more responsibility and room for growth, but right before I joined they dissolved the department and left me, untrained, to do four people's work with a new manager who knew absolutely nothing.

Plus my new manager was in Singapore and I'm in Texas.  That's 14 hours different.  The majority of the teams I worked with every day were in California and Dublin.  Also different time zones. 
 
I had to work overnights to be available to train my manager and be available all day for meetings with everyone else.  While doing the work of 4 people.  They kept bringing on inexperienced contractors for peanuts to "help" me but, of course, they would just end up leaving after realizing the work load so I was also constantly training brand new people on top of BAU.

This contained for almost a year.  It was the worst.  It was completely normal at Facebook.  All of my peers were going through the same thing and this was before the layoffs. I hear it's even worse now.

I took almost 9 months off work after I quit because my mental and physical health were completely trashed after that ordeal.

Food, games, youth campus it all looks so nice. 

When the reality sets in it is far from it. 

1. Leadership is the source of a toxic culture of slew of people working very hard to make lots of money for Meta under the guise of connecting the world. This causes its own set of disillusionment problems once that reality sets it. 
2. The HR team is too much in the everyday work experience with a constant bombardment of “justify why you are here messaging and concern” under a guise of making impact. This is something as much of the workforce is very cynical of this pervasive ever-there, ever lingering presence. 
3. The company is always changing its focus. Chasing the next big thing, why? See point one. It is not out to fix world issues it serves one purpose. To put ads in people face. 
4. Meta does not hire role players. It hires top talent. The result is too many cooks for every thing. The smallest of issues has too many opinions and options because there is not enough role players. This makes working life miserable. 
5. There is no commitment to people. There is lots of lip service and they do a good job of selling new hires the idea of “This is your company”, but it is not. It is everything your free mind would tell you before you get hired. It is rouse to make you devote more than you ever should to any company just trying to make a mountain of money. 

Facebook as a business model, has 0 strategy for analyzing why something failed as far as management development goes and employee happiness. They just keep going on, hiring new people instead of investing in existing employees. Having a system mindset - analyzing why something failed, investigating the failure, and looking at the decision making choices that led to this failing is completely absent from Facebook's management team. They contract and subcontract work out, and make contract workers feel less than human in a caste system of social hierarchy. Even this would be ok, if the social aspect wasn't toxic as well. Facebook encouraged people to refer their friends, but at one point, over 20 people worked there connected all to the same group of friends which led to bullying, harassment, trolling, and all types of horrible behavior in the workplace - it became a mob. Instead of analyzing why this happened, an incentivizing improvement, or investing in professional development, they punished people for not fitting in and ignored the problems destroying productivity. On the surface Facebook sounds like they encourage innovation when in reality they reward conformity in a very unhealthy social environment lacking equal standards applied to everyone.

You will be paid a wage insufficient for the cost of living in the area and never even given an employee evaluation or a raise. I worked there for two years. Expect to have a ridiculous schedule (some days 12-8 AM, some days 8-4 PM and some days 4-12 AM). As a contractor, you will be viewed as a second-class citizen. Your contracting agency will have little contact with you and your Manager will be a full-time employee, but they are not working for the same company so they can't help you with anything. Your contracting agency doesn't care about you because all they care about is the bottom line. They need warm bodies in seats reviewing content. That's all. There's thousands of people lined up behind you to take this "prestigious" job, so any complaints will be disregarded. "You should just be happy to work here." Everybody wants the golden egg "FTE" role so they won't make any waves to solve any problems you have. All of the administration staff for your contracting agency just wants to get promoted to FTE so they don't fix anything for fear of being a "problem" and all of your Facebook Managers are at the lowest level of FTE and they just want to get promoted to a better role so THEY won't fix anything for you. Don't make the mistake of taking this job to move up the ladder, either. It won't happen. NOBODY AT THIS COMPANY CARES ABOUT YOU. If you can accept that fact and just want to say you work there and eat the free food, then go ahead and apply.

Know that working here is an almost constant fight for survival. 
Yes, you get to work with super smart, driven, Type A colleagues on sometimes exciting/interesting products. But you are often in direct competition with them to some degree, in order to get the appropriate scope and impact you need to keep your job. 

There is a tremendous amount of volatility (both frequent re-orgs and pivots that can strip you of the initiatives you are leading as well as new directives that suddenly place your job in jeopardy). The bar changes on what you need to achieve to meet your expectations. You generally should try to perform a level above what you are hired for to feel confident that, come performance review, you are not in the bottom 5% of employees who will be automatically let go. There is a stack ranking and curve. 
Yes, the pay and benefits are at or above the top of the market, hard to beat except at perhaps another FANG, so you will get paid for this stress. Just know that you will not have a secure job, that every half year you will be on edge waiting for a review and that you can never be quite sure what the prognosis is. This company used to be a very good one to work for, with less random firings, but it is not the case any longer. You cannot make mistakes here of any kind (however inconsequential) without some kind of ramification, which sadly leads to a very risk-averse environment and a dampening of true innovation and creativity. 

Working at Meta is a thrilling and cutting-edge experience that propels you into the forefront of the metaverse. As a team member in this immersive realm, you'll find yourself contributing to the creation of mind-bending virtual experiences that transcend the boundaries of reality. Collaborating with like-minded, innovative professionals, you'll be surrounded by individuals passionate about reshaping the way we interact with the digital world.

At Meta, you'll encounter a diverse array of roles, from developers crafting intricate code to designers shaping breathtaking virtual environments. Every day will present fresh challenges and opportunities to push the boundaries of what's possible in this interconnected digital universe. The fast-paced nature of this industry fosters constant growth, and you'll continuously learn and adapt to emerging technologies and user needs.

In addition to the technical aspects, working at Meta often means tapping into your creativity and imagination to envision and design new digital realities. You'll get a taste of the excitement your users experience when they immerse themselves in the metaverse you helped create.

Overall, a career at Meta offers an unparalleled blend of technology, creativity, and innovation, making it an exhilarating journey for those passionate about shaping the future of the interconnected digital world.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Software engineer 860 salaries reported	$209,101 per year
Data scientist 150 salaries reported	$202,333 per year
Senior software engineer 111 salaries reported	$220,961 per year
Program manager 51 salaries reported	$180,067 per year
Recruitment resourcer 64 salaries reported	$164,276 per year

Working at Meta: Company Overview and Reviews

Meta

Meta Ratings

Popular jobs at Meta

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected