There is a strong divide between working as a contractor for Google vs being an employee. It was like being at the fence of the garden of Eden, looking in at happy Googlers, while sitting just out of reach. Being a Google employee, a "white badger", is great. Being a contractor (or TVC as Google calls us) can range from honestly very great, to terrible. If you're a developer who is a contractor, or a manager, life is pretty good. But if you're a worker bee, it's rough. The maps people possibly have the worst of it.
The Google divide is becomes quickly, starkly obvious just after starting. There is no health insurance, and no paid time off when working as a Google Maps surveyor (or any TVC). Traveling extensively, often no where interesting, and staying over the weekend with no option to return home for weeks at a time made this job very hard for me, especially because I have a family. Vacations, even short ones, where highly detrimental to putting food on the table and paying rent.
Google gave me a corporate credit card to pay for daily meals, which was good. BUT the card was heavily micromanaged with daily and weekly reports due for its use. Even though it had a daily expenditure cap. But I was never allowed to gain points for purchases, while my managers quickly become diamond Hilton members making reservations for me... A very clear double standard. You are also expected to enter business spaces and survey but without permission from business and business owners, whi
ProsFree food
Consdangerous, zero growth, time away from home, no benefits
Productive and fun workplace, Pros
1) Food, food, food. 15+ cafes on main campus (MTV) alone. Mini-kitchens, snacks, drinks, free breakfast/lunch/dinner, all day, errr'day.
2) Benefits/perks. Free 24:7 gym access (on MTV campus). Free (self service) laundry (washer/dryer) available. Bowling alley. Volley ball pit. Custom-built and exclusive employee use only outdoor sport park (MTV). Free health/fitness assessments. Dog-friendly. Etc. etc. etc.
3) Compensation. In ~2010 or 2011, Google updated its compensation packages so that they were more competitive.
4) For the size of the organization (30K+), it has remained relatively innovative, nimble, and fast-paced and open with communication but, that is definitely changing (for the worse).
5) With so many departments, focus areas, and products, *in theory*, you should have plenty of opportunity to grow your career (horizontally or vertically). In practice, not true.
6) You get to work with some of the brightest, most innovative and hard-working/diligent minds in the industry. There's a "con" to that, too (see below).
Cons
1) Work/life balance. What balance? All those perks and benefits are an illusion. They keep you at work and they help you to be more productive. I've never met anybody at Google who actually time off on weekends or on vacations. You may not hear management say, "You have to work on weekends/vacations" but, they set the culture by doing so - and it inevitably trickles down. I don't know if Google inadverte
First of all, amazing tech stack, great engineers, interesting projects, more knowledge and resources available than you can handle. You have to learn all the time and not stick to some specific stack as there's constant development and deprecation going on. Not the environment for everybody but if you have a boy-scout attitude you will be happy there. I am for this part.
For the organizational aspects it's not great though. A lot of chaotic changes happened just so that someone can have a great performance evaluation to jump to another team after which the project is forgotten (I've seen it happen many times). It's amazing how many resources are wasted for meaningless work. It's sad to see engineers taking over management tasks from incompetent managers just to get work done.
For the cultural part, don't be fooled - it's not the same open and inclusive company as it used to be. People get fired for saying the ugly truth. The hierarchy is much more enforced than it used to be (in my org tree). Make sure you work there as a full-time employee (FTE) and not let's say a contractor. If you're a contractor like me, doing the same full-time engineering work as my FTE peers and for many years just on different contract (but same NDAs), prepare for getting different treatment. This is sad especially that the majority of the workforce are contractors/vendors etc. Some examples:
- I need to pass some security trainings annually which say that contractors/temps/vendors are trouble and
Prosamazing tech stack, constantly learning new things, good salary
Consdiscrimination of contracors, poor organization of work, many meaningless projects which get abbandoned very soon
Overview: Working for Google Express has been a great learning experience. I have grown in many ways with a lot of different people. I learned how to lead a team and plan a successful work day, as well as input my previous experiences from other jobs into this one which helped me excel into the position I am currently in.
Job Description: Google Express is a same day delivery service that caters to stores such as Target, Walgreens, Costco, and other retailers. The area of Google Express that I work in is in the warehouse where drivers pick up customer orders (parcels) and brings them to the warehouse to be sorted, stowed, picked and given to courier drivers to be delivered.
Typical Day: I would help open the warehouse we work in and take attendance of operators within the shift. I would then obtain the assets needed for a successful work day i.e smartphones, barcode scanners and laptop computers. As soon as I complete that, I assign operators to each of the three work zones: Inbound, Outbound and Prep & Stow based on each individual's physical abilities as well computer knowledge and abilities to carry out tasks required. Throughout the day, I would monitor, as well as help any zone that need back up during our rushes. I mostly supervise the operators and solve any problems that arise as well as guide them in the right direction and train them along the way.
Management: I have had dealings with several managers throughout my time on the project and they
ProsGreat workers and free micro kitchen filled with snacks
I'm a powerful, masculine, mgtow type of guy, and even I broke down crying on the datacenter floor
Former Employee - Operations Engineer in Atlanta, GA
Positive Outlook
No opinion of CEO
I worked at Google (Less than a year)
Pros
The people are very nice and smart. the dress is casual. the cubicles are quiet. The food is good. A fun place to work.
The security staff is nice, and some will become good friends.
Cons
The datacenter never has enough tools.
You feel completely alone and it seems that you shouldn't ask questions once you're let loose post-trainig.
I broke down crying a few times on the datacenter floor because I couldn't find any answers or documentation from their intranet or from other employees.
They want a phd level of intelligence to work for 20$/hr.
Atlanta is the neglected "redheaded stepchild" data center.
Can be somewhat political, but if you don't get involved with or discuss politics anywhere on memegen or on the internal mailing lists or if you're smart enough to be engage in a neutral manner or pretend to side with the "correct" politics rather than your own political beliefs, you'll be alright.
I sweat a lot, and no one told me that I could bring spill-proof tumblers or clear drink containers on the DC floor!
The training was excellent. But safety protocols conflict with the speed that repairs MUST be accomplished. Eg: you must take shortcuts, like not wear globes when doing battery swaps, even if it's not safe. I was probably fired for not wearing gloves during the week that safety inspectors were onsite, however I
I almost never knew the "greater picture" of where my team was headed, because the entire department seemed to have no clue. I would be told something by someone on my team who heard it in passing from our manager, and then the exact opposite would happen in two weeks. Even when that manager quit, the same things kept happening, and even when I switched teams (within the same department), so I believe the entire department was rotting from the head.
I saw excessive amounts of waste at every turn. Corporate culture is one of laziness and complacency, to the point where trying to pick up extra work that is technically beyond the scope of your job title will actually penalize you. I had to argue for weeks to convince a senior engineer to make a one line, basic change to top of rack switch because he simply didn't want to do it, and there was literally no recourse for me (I quit before he did, if he ever did).
There are also some really sketchy activity going on inside, and attempts at bringing said activity to light will most likely only end poorly for you.
Overall, it started off great when I was still enamored by the name "Google" and was but a lowly peon. But as my team members quickly quit and my responsibilities expanded to encompass their old duties (because hiring for your team is also a nightmare), I saw more and more of the grit beneath the glamor. I have no intention of ever working for Google again.
I do feel I need to say that the Facilities team gets stu
ProsFree food, free (or discounted, if you're a contractor) travel to anywhere in the bay area
ConsCulture of laziness, hostility towards contractors, some really sketchy stuff going on, too many people making dumb power plays, promotional system is broken
Wonderful direct supervisor, terrible upper management
Typical day at work:
Come in, log into system, get right to work gathering products to fulfill customer orders. Help coworkers with hard-to-find items or missing/damaged items.
What I learned:
Work as hard as I can, always be ready to assist the team, keep open communication with management. Don't let any of them abuse their position to make your job harder than it should be.
Management:
The two direct supervisors I worked closest with during my time at Google Express were both very easy-going and hands-off. As long as I got my work done and kept an open line of communication to assist with any complications that might come up, they just left me to my work. Now the other managers and district managers were an entirely different story. They were entirely unwilling to help with anything--whether it be scheduling, points on our records, or just being generally civil, they consistently talked down to and looked down on us. They would ask for our input on streamlining parts of the work process, and proceed not to listen to any of our ideas, until parts of the work programs malfunctioned, or our order queue skyrocketed for weeks at a time.
Workplace culture:
Aside from the aforementioned management problems, coworkers were, for the most part, easy to get along with, and reliable to work with. However, as is the case in most work environments, there were a handful of extremely lazy people. This would not be a problem if it weren't for the fact that the team as a whol
My summary has been:
Working on contract is terrible,
Working for Google is awesome,
So working for Google on contract is a very interesting experience.
The in office perks are very nice, your co-workers and manager are great in that they are both nice people and very good at their jobs and you have very interesting things to work on on a challenging timeline. Its a very good place to be.
However, as a contractor, the company's actions make it clear they do not care about you at all. You don't have any job security, so you don't know if you'll be there in 6 months and you can only be there a maximum of 2 years regardless how much your team values you (unless there is budgetary miracle). There are regular meetings and off-site events for team building that you are not invited to, which has rather the opposite effect. It doesn't matter how inclusive or devoted to psychological security your culture is if half the employees don't have job security.
And the people on the ground know its is terrible but the practice persists for economic reasons (since contractors cost about half what full employees do). Like as a contractor I was not invited to the holiday party, but full time employees that couldn't go would give their invites to contractors; so the employees would work around company policies to mitigate that damage to morale and tea-mates. It was a weird disconnect.
But like I said, Google is a great place to work, you'll meet great people, work on very intere
ProsGreat co-workers, good management, good tools, interesting projects, good culture
ConsContractors get limited perks, lack of job security, lack of inclusion
As a contractor I worked at Mountain View and also on the YouTube Ads project in San Bruno.
The former was excellent, with an excellent supervisor. The contract was supposed to last one year and went two. Very happy.
I learned much from the other programmers and engineers (both Google employees and fellow contractors). The ergonomics of my desk and chair were excellent. The lighting is a bit harsh and the air quality was terrible on the weekends. I am used to an office and it was really weird sitting across from someone and when you looked up they might be staring back. Just weird!
Now, that was the good one. Following that, I worked in San Bruno on the YouTube Red project. It was extremely annoying and we were treated poorly. At YouTube our supervisor was terrible. I can honestly say she was the worst manager I've ever worked for. Blamed us for her lack of procedure and disorganization. Instead of real coding (and Graphics as promised) we spent our days and sometimes nights trying to modify an often broken and bizarre script-based system. We couldn't even get access to fix the broken parts! Super annoying.
I would work in Mountain View in a heartbeat. San Bruno and YouTube - never again. Stay away if you cherish your mental health.
Finally, a bit of a warning, for older engineers and contractors: expect to be left out of the culture. If you have a thin skin this might bug you. I didn't bother me much though and now and again, at Mountain V
ProsFree food, intelligent people. Lots of cool stuff to learn and code.
ConsContractors must be onsite at all times. That is, no remote work.
5.0
Technical Specialist | New York, NY | Jul 29, 2018
Awesome company
I didn't mind staying late there as long as I could catch the train (commuter) and getting in early was normal. Plus you can catch a really healthy and delicious breakfast.
Other than a bit of posturing from teammates mostly from Ivy schools at the beginning, everyone is respectful and friendly.
Engineering is a clear favorite in the company though management receive high compensation as well.
Meetings are frequent but brief. People are expected to do more than the standard. That's what the perks are for I believe. The environment is comfortable so try to outperform and bring in more value for their cost (your compensation).
If I had to be picky, the only cons I experienced were (coming from smaller companies) that even if you were proficient in another area, you often couldn't apply it because roles are more strictly defined at a large company such as Google. There are security and policy procedures that limit access.
I read elsewhere that some people found some employees to be arrogant. I found that to be the rare minority. Even in those cases, if you prove yourself good at what you do, you win respect. When I started, I came from a state college and 80% of my team were Harvard grads. They did their clique-y thing on occasion. But they didn't realize I went to state university because my family wasn't well off, and I dropped my GPA at the end pursuing athletic and gaming competitions on a national level. My standardized exam scores were in the 99th percentil
Busy and average working conditions, funny looking place.
I was working in Catering Mk team as a Catering assistant. My typical day started at 7 am for morning shift and 12 am for the afternoon shift.
B for start of my shift I`d take my work uniform on me and make sure that my personal hygiene is up to required standard.
I signed inn at the manager desk and collected work phone and temperature probe.
My responsibilities was looking after Micro kitchens located in google office building. Daily I had 4-6 kitchen`s to look after.
First in morning I did temperature checks and collected a trolley from storeroom and stock up dairy products, fruits and Coffey on it and bring thous on the floors to the kitchens. Stock the fridges and stands with thous and did a stock check what I will need next.
Second I cleaned all fridges and water coolers and Coffey machines in my kitchens. Than I stocked thous. I was constantly washing up Coffey mugs, bowls, plates, crockery, in dish washers and also by hand beside all the stocking. Only half of the kitchens had dish washers as a result of savings.
After my break I was stocking up Sweet stands and cleaning Gaggio Coffey machines and tiding up the kitchens. I was also responsible for proper working order of all electric powered kitchen equipment and for logging service tickets if required.
On the end of my shift I make sure that all my kitchens are tidy, clean and well stocked for the next day. I cleaned and returned my trolley and disposed all waste in a compactor or bin. I returned to my manager to r
Google, is actually like in the movie "The internship"
A typical day at work as a field operations associate for Google Map starts by going to the office, based in Victoria in London, to meet the other members of the team. At 8:30am we all go to the cafeteria to have breakfast together. After an hour everyone go on the field with his backpack, his phone and his battery pack and is ready to explore the city and visit the places which are on the weekly assignment. For some of us, we have a car or a plane to get.
We are alone on the field, every member has a disctrict to survey and is fully independent. We manage our planning and our work.
We are all part of a group on Hangout and cha all day to help eachother.
We spend our day travelling and meeting the store managers to explain our work.
At the end of the day, we are back to our place and hotel. At night, we have to do some administration like filling forms and planning our next day in order to reach our targets.
I have learned so much about the Google culture, like the fact that everyone works with a positive energy and want to learn all the time, I have learned what team work is and how important it is for a project to grow. I have learned a lot about Google Map and how the application works. I have learned to use the Google applications such as Google sheet, Google doc, Google drawing, Google analytics, Google Kepp, Google Map and much more. I have learnt to install the Bluetooth beacons in stores and I could manage a team on the installation process and liaise with the
First the obvious freebies for all employees and contractors: free breakfast, lunch, and snacks, access to Google gym and fitness classes, and a genuinely great office and facilities (most employees can chose a Macbook, Chromebook, or Windows laptop and many get supplied with the latest Google phones and tablets depending on the team). People are very friendly, motivated, and interesting and it is a genuinely fun workplace with lots of buzz and challenges.
Treatment of TVCs (temps, vendors, and contractors) varies by team and at times it feels like they are considered second-class citizens by management, or ignored altogether. TVCs in some teams can't work from home, use work equipment (laptops, mobile devices etc..) externally, aren't usually entitled to business travel, free Google swag, and most team/company meetings and social events.
As a result many are left feeling a bit ostracised as "outsiders". I've never been treated like this as a contractor in my professional career and it leaves a nasty taste in your mouth like you're not trusted or fresh out of college and incompetent.
Converting to a full-time employee is also very hard and being a TVC doesn't really give you a leg-up compared to external candidates. I found recruiters to be disinterested in helping me stay at Google.
Management should treat TVCs better, and less like second class citizens. If you go to the effort of hiring and training them, why not invest in their future and try to find them a pe
ProsFree breakfast lunch and snacks, access to Google gym and fitness classes, a genuinely great office and facilities, choice of laptop, phone and/or tablet, people are very friendly and interesting, a genuinely fun workplace with lots of buzz and challenges
ConsTreatment of contractors, no travel many other perks full-time employees get
Questions And Answers about Google
What type of education qualification is needed for getting good job in google company
Asked Jun 12, 2016
Google classroom Middle Country School District educated through 6 th grade students communication, studies, testing skills for learning
Google search engine #1
Answered May 9, 2022
I don't believe it's really a degree, but the ability for someone to always remain highly curious, competitive, respectful, excellent communication skills (speaking & listening) and open-minded. Have the confidence in working independently, but as part of a team, sharing the common goal of excellence. It's easy to sell yourself as a degree holder, however to be able to truly understand that technology is under constant exponential change and the willingness to keep up with this evolution, will be one of the core differentiating factors.
Answered May 8, 2020
If you were in charge, what would you do to make Google a better place to work?
Asked Nov 9, 2019
Google classroom trusted value creative platform for education
Answered Oct 4, 2021
CEO making a huge impact in the world of business during economy crisis
Award winning leader
Awarded Service Excellence
Honor Sacrifice Loyalty to All
Answered Sep 24, 2021
What is the best part of working at Google?
Asked Mar 23, 2020
The people
Answered May 21, 2022
this is a test
Answered May 16, 2022
Can I work from Home for Google?
Asked Dec 27, 2017
Yes an there
Answered Aug 16, 2018
Its true ,doing work while you at home make you or me have some time with my family
Answered Jul 20, 2018
What advice would you give the CEO of Google about how to improve it?
