Bengaluru techie's post on pros and cons of working at Google goes viral: 'Only my body knows how...'

A software engineer from Bengaluru recently shared his three-year experience working at Google on X. Raj Vikramaditya, who goes by 'Striver' on the platform, outlined a list of pros and cons associated with his time at the tech giant. Among the advantages, he highlighted work-life balance and additional perks.

On the downside, Vikramaditya noted challenges such as the need for multiple layers of approval. In his post, he reflected, "Here's to 3 years of growth, learning, and unforgettable experiences! Only my body knows how tough it has been to work."

Taking to the social media platform X, he wrote, "Completed 3 years at Google today. Pros and cons," after that Vikramaditya highlighted first advantage of working at Google as he said, "Pros -  Incredible WLB (Work-Life Balance): They take care of almost everything you can think of-food, gym, spa, trips, parties," he explained. The techie further praised Google's codebase. "Once you dive into it, you're in awe of the quality, design, and overall architecture," he added.

Completed 3 years at Google today 

Pros and Cons 

Pros 

- Incredible WLB (Work-Life Balance): They take care of almost everything you can think of—food, gym, spa, trips, parties.

- The codebase: Once you dive into it, you’re in awe of the quality, design, and overall… pic.twitter.com/PlrAHmFavz

— Striver (@striver_79) December 6, 2024

In his pros list, Vikramaditya noted that working at Google means being surrounded by exceptionally talented individuals. He stated, "Being around such talent pushes you to stay sharp and constantly improve."

He also highlighted other advantages of working at Google, including the significant impact of the work, additional perks, and the availability of internal tools and documentation.

He elaborated on the advantages, saying, "Impact: The work here reaches millions (or even billions); Extra perks: On-call pay, peer bonuses, spot bonuses—there's always something extra; Internal tools: The tools are so advanced that similar ones in the outside world often become standalone startups run by different companies; Documentation: Everything is well-documented, which facilitates smoother transitions when team members switch teams or leave." 

In the cons section, the techie pointed out three main issues. He highlighted that the approval process is slow, but he recognised that at a large company like Google, multiple layers of approvals are essential to mitigate risks such as lawsuits.

The second disadvantage he noted is "limited scope." He explained, "Most teams don't get to work on end-to-end features. Much of the infrastructure is pre-built, so unless you're on a core team, the learning curve might not be as steep."

Vikramaditya shared the post on Friday, which has since garnered over 90,000 views and numerous likes. In the comments section, users expressed a variety of reactions.

One user said, "Hey, congrats! You’re the perfect person to ask this. From your perspective, What would you say is the "big why ?"  would you consider working at a big tech company like Google right now?"

Another wrote, "Honestly right now if you ask me, I don’t want to sit in my room alone all the day. I am pretty settled and got things aligned for everything to work simultaneously, so don’t wanna switch as well."