I recently had the good fortune of being hired for my first full time position in software development. I didn’t consider this new gig to be the most glamorous or high paying job in Tech but it was a decent offer and I though the work was interesting. Also, many career experts suggest that if you are new and inexperienced in the industry as I am, that you should probably take the first job opportunity that you are offered to get at least 2 – 3 years of experience. In addition to landing a job, where I really scored is what I consider to be the “quiet benefits” of the company I now work for.
I’ve heard of many unbelievable perks of working for huge Tech companies that are actually not great when you hear how things actually play out in real life. For example, some companies offer unlimited time off but employees feel like they can’t take any time off because of competitive dead lines and high pressure performance reviews. Google offers free breakfast and dinner. However, breakfast stops a full hour before work begins and dinner is only served a full hour after work ends. The drawback to this is that employees end up spending more hours working waiting before and after work for the “free” meals. While there are some truly awesome perks working for large Tech companies, no one can look past the cascade of lay-offs happening right now.
The company I’m at is a mid-sized, international private company that produces electronic devices for defense, communications and critical infrastructure. This didn’t mean anything to me at first but now I regard these traits as a rare treasure since business is booming and the company is expanding rapidly. The company is not feeling the negative affects of inflation and recession since it doesn’t answer to stock investors and makes products that help maintain the safety and status-quo of every day life–things people and governments need and are readily willing to pay for.
Another aspect that I truly love is how the company values employees and makes long term investments in them. They are paying for my tuition to complete my CS degree program and are sending me to Europe for training. I’m just a new employee that they hope will stay with the company for a long time. I don’t have any binding contract to work for a certain amount of time in exchange for these investments. It might seem crazy or risky but it’s a business model that works for the company. I have no desire to leave and find a different job and most people finish out their careers here. The average tenure of an employee is 13 years while many spend 30+ years in the company. Compare that value for any of the “dream” companies, like Google where the average tenure is less than 2 years. Most SW devs leave Amazon after 1 year. The stats are similar across the board for most MAANG companies. If I do ever go looking for another company, I am certainly going to consider this statistic as it seems to speak volumes about the quality of experience an employee has.
I’ve come to realize that many desirable qualities of a good company aren’t the flashy perks that some companies advertise, but rather how it views its employees as long term assets and thinks long term about its business model. I hope that everyone out there working towards their CS degree, trying to get their foot in the door somewhere, can find a company that will truly value and invest in them.
Leave a Reply