Published 2022-04-24
Tags: #life-reflection
I am quitting Google for the second time. Here is a summary of my career history, and two reasons that helped me make the decision.
(Note: This post is just one part of the Google-to-Snowflake series. Other posts: 1. Why quit Google 2. Interview tips 3. How I spend my time 4. New work mindset at Snowflake)
Three years ago I said “I want work to be more aligned with my core values”, and so I quit Google to do master’s in computational neuroscience.
Two years ago I rejoined Google and said: “Hmm actually, I’m not too particular on whether it’s computational neuroscience research or software engineering. Both satisfy my core value requirements. Working condition (cough and money cough) matter too.”
This year I’m quitting Google to join Snowflake ❄️. In this most recent adventure, I have been working in Google Cloud, but also doing a 20% where I contribute to a Google Brain research (this point will become more relevant later on).
Incremental evaluation of current work. I thought about how much my life resume (or: a 1-page autobiography) will change if I were to spend another year in Cloud to launch a new product… and I’m not even sure if it will change that much. (e.g. “launched products in Chrome [(new addition) and Cloud]”). Note that before I quit the first time I was already a TL and got to launch a product. So, this is less about my current team / project, but more about what incremental life story this adventure would bring to the experience I already had.
Alternatives with better story. What further exacerbates this feeling of discontentment is the availability of better alternatives. Trying a new company sounds interesting given that I have only ever worked at Google as an FTE. The 20% research time is also most definitely a solid addition to the life resume, especially when we get to publish our work sometime this year. Something doesn’t feel quite right when my proudest accomplishments come from my side project rather than from the work that I’m spending most of my time on.
In Snowflake ❄️, the story I want to earn is — I want to be an expert in data privacy. My side project time will be spent on learning / paper reading and contributing to open source. I will make an impact even beyond the company.
How I spend my time and energy. I haven’t been writing any code recently. Most of my time and mental energy is spent on aligning the team on execution plans, or aligning other teams to buy into our strategy. This means a lot more time spent on meetings, emails, and reviewing or writing docs. I didn’t feel that my technical strengths are exercised enough. The effect is I had feelings like: [“I don’t think I made full use of my potential”, “A part of me that brings me a lot of joy is being neglected”].
Want: technical challenges. Not that it’s a bad thing — these tasks have their own challenges, I quite enjoyed them, and I don’t particularly mind writing less code. What bothers me is that I am spending ~0% time thinking about technical challenges. I want to grow my technical prowess. I want to consume, and produce information that is more globally relevant, and long-lasting than the local organizational constraints. There is a sub-identity within me that prides itself on its technical excellence, and it’s wilting.
20% research. On the other hand, doing research during my 20% energizes me. I get to read research papers, brainstorm on unsolved problems and prototype my own ideas. I get to consume, play with, and produce ideas that are relevant beyond my current organization, and beyond my lifetime. What great fun! What a privilege!
Snowflake❄️. I’ll be joining the data privacy team, and from my brief conversations with the hiring manager, I am hopeful that this technical itch will be satisfied. Some data points: (1) I was told that the team will work closely with research scientists. (2) When I asked the TL what he has been thinking about the past week, it went something like “I have been thinking about how to make epsilon in the differential privacy guarantee more interpretable to the customers” (in retrospect, [checking if I am interested in the problems the TL is thinking about] is a good test I will employ from now on).
All in all, I left because I felt that my life story is stagnating, and because I want to tend to the technical side of me that is slowly wilting the more senior I go (oh, and the $ you get for company hopping is delicious too :P).
Til next time, maybe? I’ll caveat it by saying that overall Google is a great place to work at, and my team was a pleasure to work with (if you are reading this, hi! It’s not you it’s me). I also have no doubt that there exists a Google team that will solve both problems I listed. So! Someday I may be back.
Next post: Some mindset tricks so my next adventure at Snowflake❄️ will not only be productive, but also a long-lasting one.
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