What's Life Really Like Inside Google? A Former Employee's Take

A former Google employee who left Microsoft for Google and then subsequently went back to Microsoft (very convoluted) has written an interesting take on what life inside the Googleplex is really like.

Some interesting anecdotes:

Google has "Tech Stops" on every floor where employees can trade in old hardware and get tech support. All it takes is a swipe of a card to check out an item.
Google doesn't have a well-defined career path. "There is no career development plan from individual contributor to manager. Basically if you get good reviews, you get more money and a fancier title (“Senior Software Engineer II”) but that’s about it."
Google is like a college campus: everything is provided for you (food, free broadband, private bus transportation to work, free or subsidized mobile phones, etc.).
You have to actively take advantage of the 20% rule. Most Googlers don't have a 20% project.

You can read more from this leaked internal Microsoft email here.

Labels: Technology