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[Wingfan19]

And I still consider my 32 days of paid vacation to be nothing short of modern slavery.

Is there any chance that you people in the US will ever enjoy more than 12 days of holidays in the future? Does the general public even care? I mean, it's not even possible for you guys to visit other places for more than 2 weeks in a row.

You can if you save up your vacation days and your company doesn't reset them every year. I've maxed mine out at 30 days, but it'd be really rare for my studio to let someone take all 30 days off in a row so you can sight see.

 

[patrickthehedgehog]

Is this the new building that was finished about a year or so ago in Kirkland, WA? If it is, I used to drive by it every Wednesday when I'd make a run to my comic shop. Saw it being built from the ground up, literally. They dug out a HUGE chunk of land for what I now assume is the underground parking garage. I had no idea what it was until the day it was done and the simple but effective "GOOGLE" sign was put up. It's a nice building and looks so modern and cool.

Sounds like it to me. Three buildings, underground parking.

 

[Jamie OD]

Jesus. It's like reading about somebody working at Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, except it's REAL.

I've walked past the offices in Dublin a few times. I think I looked at that building the same way Charlie would look at the chocolate factory from afar.

 

[Beaulieu]

And I still consider my 32 days of paid vacation to be nothing short of modern slavery.

Is there any chance that you people in the US will ever enjoy more than 12 days of holidays in the future? Does the general public even care? I mean, it's not even possible for you guys to visit other places for more than 2 weeks in a row.

you are confusing paid holidays with vacation days I think.

 

[Byakuya769]

And I still consider my 32 days of paid vacation to be nothing short of modern slavery.

The fuck!?! The United States should be swallowing Western Europe up economically since we "work so much harder." What benefits are we getting by working many more days than our European counterparts? (I'm assuming your European or Australian.. my apologies if I'm wrong)

 

[thezerofire]

as a Comp Sci major, Google is the dream. Or Valve. But seriously, Google is the shit.

 

[CFMOORE!]

Yup. Let's sit on a bench in a corner and cry together.

if only it was a fancy boat bench for us to cry together on.

I have a former colleague from the videogame industry who now works at Google in the Marketing Department. Back when I was trying to land a job there the stuff he told me they look for in candidates is pretty insane. I knew I had no chance.

 

[flyover]

If I were unmarried, in my 20s, and I wanted my coworkers to be my social circle (not that there's anything wrong with that), Google would be the perfect place to work. It sounds amazing.

But I'm married, and I like being home by 5 and getting way more than 12 days of vacation per year. I think I'd hate it, now. Oh my god, I'm old.

 

[Lasthope106]

as a Comp Sci major, Google is the dream. Or Valve. But seriously, Google is the shit.

My only piece of advice is to really learn the stuff in your Data Structures, and Algorithms classes, and I mean really, really learn them. Be able to do tree traversal algorithms in your sleep, and have complete mastery of the known algorithm techniques i.e. divide and conquer, greedy strategies and dynamic programming. Know a computer language well by the time you decide to interview, and I mean really know it. As for side projects, a good internship or co-op should be more than enough to distinguish you from the rest. But above all, be passionate!

 

[m@gic]

Thanks, but I will stick to the real world.

 

[PrivateWHudson]

And I still consider my 32 days of paid vacation to be nothing short of modern slavery.

Is there any chance that you people in the US will ever enjoy more than 12 days of holidays in the future? Does the general public even care? I mean, it's not even possible for you guys to visit other places for more than 2 weeks in a row.

American time off really isn't too bad. Our company is no where as cool as google (we have to put $0.30 in a machine for a tiny 6oz cup of coffee), but being there 10 years, I get 9 paid holidays (Christmas, New Years ect), 2 days optional holidays (you can call your birthday a holiday if you want), and 30 days PTO (vacation/sick). All said, that's 41 free days per year.

 

[Vanillalite]

My sister in-law's brother was contacted by Google about a job position. I don't think he ever ended up interviewing though. Post that he got into this very select grad program at NYU, but passed that up because he got a job offer at Twitter where he currently works.

 

[Davedough]

I'm so incredibly jelly and so incredibly depressed knowing that I'm not smart enough to work there.

 

[Technosteve]

Is there room at godgole for me?

 

[Ignatz Mouse]

I had some interest from Google last year, btu I passed. I'd have been travelling a lot (like 30-50%) and I have small kids. Too bad.

 

[Rocksteady33]

I knew a kid who was hired out of college and worked for Google for three years as a product analyst. He made great money, worked at their headquarters, and had all kinds of these free benefits. But he left and didn't want to go back. I knew about Google perks long before reading this thread and asked him why he left considering how good of a company Google is known to be. He said because Google gives these benefits to their employees so they basically never want to leave. This forces employees to never look for jobs outside the company, and this allows Google to hinder promotion and movement. The kid I knew loved the company but said he knew getting to where he wanted to be career wise would take three times as long at Google. But people put up with it because what other company is going to offer free food and gyms?

 

[Joe Shlabotnik]

I know someone who works at Google. I never really believed in "charmed lives" until I met this guy. His eventually landing a job at Google seemed like an inevitability.

I can assure you he is not stressed.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Lots of people are confusing public/company-wide paid holidays with total holiday/vacation days in a year. The standard 12 paid holidays per year is completely separate from any vacation/holiday time that workers accumulate every year. For example, I've got 2 weeks worth of paid vacation time saved up that I can use as I please, which is completely separate from the 12 paid holidays.

 

[Tideas]

Lots of people are confusing public/company-wide paid holidays with total holiday/vacation days in a year. The standard 12 paid holidays per year is completely separate from any vacation/holiday time that workers accumulate every year. For example, I've got 2 weeks worth of paid vacation time saved up that I can use as I please, which is completely separate from the 12 paid holidays.

it's because in the US, we call Christmas a holiday taken off, where as during summer, we have 'vacation' days.

ppl outside the US, they use the term "holiday" as a vacation.

My last job working in the US, counting all days off combined (vacation and national holidays), it was 27 days. not bad for an entree level job i'd say.

 

[SouthernDragon]

How did you manage to do that? You first need to have a screening and 1st technical interview before they even consider flying you to Mountain View. What position are you applying for?

First, I'm not going for a developer position. Secondly, I'm coming in recommended by a Google employee and two Google interns. Third, someone I know knows the recruiting team.

Good luck!

Thanks! I just hope I don't embarrass myself.

 

[Hasphat'sAnts]

Want to work at Google?

Here's a question in one of their interviews for entry level designers:

"Suppose a car is running along the number line, and for each unit of time (iteration), it moves a constant, integer amount forward. Design an algorithm that can find what the "speed" is given that for each iteration, your algorithm will test where the car is along that number line, and you'll be told whether you got it on the spot or not, assume the car starts at 0."


7 rounds of these.

 

[Lasthope106]

First, I'm not going for a developer position. Secondly, I'm coming in recommended by a Google employee and two Google interns. Third, someone I know knows the recruiting team.



Thanks! I just hope I don't embarrass myself.

Good luck!

 

[slider]

Want to work at Google?

Here's a question in one of their interviews for entry level designers:

"Suppose a car is running along the number line, and for each unit of time (iteration), it moves a constant, integer amount forward. Design an algorithm that can find what the "speed" is given that for each iteration, your algorithm will test where the car is along that number line, and you'll be told whether you got it on the spot or not, assume the car starts at 0."


7 rounds of these.

Awesome.

 

[jvalioli]

Want to work at Google?

Here's a question in one of their interviews for entry level designers:

"Suppose a car is running along the number line, and for each unit of time (iteration), it moves a constant, integer amount forward. Design an algorithm that can find what the "speed" is given that for each iteration, your algorithm will test where the car is along that number line, and you'll be told whether you got it on the spot or not, assume the car starts at 0."


7 rounds of these.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/047012167X/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Stuff from this book is what you should expect if you're 3 years or less out of college. Also the amount of interviews required was reduced recently.

 

[Hasphat'sAnts]

By the way, answer to the interview question:

Spoiler

For each iteration(unit of time), your algorithm guesses the square of that number, that way, at some point, the car and the sequence your algorithm follows with converge.

Fun little problem.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/047012167X/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Stuff from this book is what you should expect if you're 3 years or less out of college. Also the amount of interviews required was reduced recently.

I'm pretty sure you still have to do quite a few rounds. I don't remember if my friend got the offer, but he signed with Microsoft so it was all good.

 

[Lasthope106]

By the way, answer to the interview question:

Spoiler

For each iteration(unit of time), your algorithm guesses the square of that number, that way, at some point, the car and the sequence your algorithm follows with converge.

Fun little problem.




I'm pretty sure you still have to do quite a few rounds. I don't remember if my friend got the offer, but he signed with Microsoft so it was all good.

That sounds more like a brain teaser than the questions I was asked. The first question I had was you have a sequence of sorted integers where repetition is allowed. Find the index of the first number you are told.

There is an easy brute force solution, and a more "elegant" one, which I was required to code on the whiteboard.

 

[Kuro Madoushi]

I looked at the job postings for Google Canada. I know someone who 'could' apply for one of them, but I'm nowhere near what they're looking for.

Just begs the question to all companies out there, "Honestly? What the fuck!"

It doesn't take a goddamn genius to understand that happy, motivated, and well-rested employees leads to higher productivity and creativity. It doesn't take too much to accomplish this. What the fuck. Just use that million dollar fucking bonus you give the CEO and make life easier for everyone else. I remember not having my contract renewed at the bank because they were cost cutting and the recession was hitting. THEY STILL MADE A BILLION IN PROFITS AND THE FUCKING CEO GOT HIS BONUS!

 

[Hasphat'sAnts]

That sounds more like a brain teaser than the questions I was asked. The first question I had was you have an sequence of sorted integers where repetition is allowed. Find the index of the first number you are told.

There is an easy brute force solution, and a more "elegant" one, which I was required to code on the whiteboard.

It was just one of the questions my friend told me about. Not a compsci/engineer, so I wouldn't know what the interviews are like exactly.

Finance here, so the most interesting stuff I see are from prop trading firms like Jane Street.

 

[Byakuya769]

But Google is losing more employees to Facebook than the other way around, so how nice is it with the Zuckster?

 

[Wimps]

This can't be real..

Can it?

 

[Xun]

I knew a kid who was hired out of college and worked for Google for three years as a product analyst. He made great money, worked at their headquarters, and had all kinds of these free benefits. But he left and didn't want to go back. I knew about Google perks long before reading this thread and asked him why he left considering how good of a company Google is known to be. He said because Google gives these benefits to their employees so they basically never want to leave. This forces employees to never look for jobs outside the company, and this allows Google to hinder promotion and movement. The kid I knew loved the company but said he knew getting to where he wanted to be career wise would take three times as long at Google. But people put up with it because what other company is going to offer free food and gyms?

Similar to what I've heard from Pixar employees.

They work long hours but because of the perks and benefits it seems like an ok thing to put up with.

 

[jchap]

And I still consider my 32 days of paid vacation to be nothing short of modern slavery.

Is there any chance that you people in the US will ever enjoy more than 12 days of holidays in the future? Does the general public even care? I mean, it's not even possible for you guys to visit other places for more than 2 weeks in a row.

Those are holiday days (veterans day, thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.)... They get PTO in addition to that. Probably at least 30 days a year.

 

[Ghost_Protocol]

A video is worth a thousand words. Holy fucking god.....

 

[firehawk12]

Didn't someone write an article about the realities of working at Google?

For example, there are amenities, but if you are seen using them, you are considered a slacker and not a hard worker by the middle managers who are directly above you and responsible for promotions and raises?

The human element seems to ruin things like this anyway.

 

[Technosteve]

Google doesn't want you to leave google.

OBEY ;_;

 

[jvalioli]

Didn't someone write an article about the realities of working at Google?

For example, there are amenities, but if you are seen using them, you are considered a slacker and not a hard worker by the middle managers who are directly above you and responsible for promotions and raises?

The human element seems to ruin things like this anyway.

Depends on what it is. Sitting in a ball pit for an hour is not a good way to spend your work day and is lazy, but if you sit in the ball pit with your laptop actually doing work, its okay. Basically as long as you're not an idiot about it, its fine.

 

[firehawk12]

Google doesn't want you to leave google.

OBEY ;_;

Avatar Quote.gif

Depends on what it is. Sitting in a ball pit for an hour is not a good way to spend your work day and is lazy, but if you sit in the ball pit with your laptop actually doing work, its okay. Basically as long as you're not an idiot about it, its fine.

I just remember things like Swedish Massages and shit like that... which, let's face it, is fairly impossible to be productive while partaking of those activities.

 

[MikeE21286]

working at Google is the stuff dreams are made of...

 

[$200]

I actually applied for one of their intern positions about 3 months ago. Got a "thank you for applying" mail and then nothing afterwards. :S

Spoiler

Are there any Google Gaffers who can check for me?

 

[jvalioli]

I just remember things like Swedish Massages and shit like that... which, let's face it, is fairly impossible to be productive while partaking of those activities.

The massages cost money normally, but you get 1 free massage a year for your birthday.

 

[Troidal]

If you get to work for Google, make sure it's full time employment. Anything out of that, they really treat contractors and temps like shit.

 

[kehs]

If you get to work for Google, make sure it's full time employment. Anything out of that, they really treat contractors and temps like shit.

Why would anyone treat contractors like employees? That's the point of hiring contractors.

 

[brotkasten]

Any other good companies to work at???
I'm 16, i have my whole life in front of me...

I've heard Microsoft is great, if you like alcohol.

 

[Conciliator]

I'd be pretty happy working up to 60 hours a week at a joint like Google, assuming enough vacation days and stuff like that, and the ability to work for home, which I'm sure Google employees are able to do tons of if they want. More than that though....65 hours, 70 hours, etc.. and I'd probably stick with the cube farm. Not sure how many hours the average Google employee works, but I would be curious to see. Might be less(or way more) than we think.

 

[UFRA]

I want to be the guy that drives around in the Google car taking pics for Google Maps.

 

[FStop7]

A video is worth a thousand words. Holy fucking god.....

I've worked at various places that have offered most of those things (except the car service... and I haven't worked anywhere that offers all of these things together, but individually here and there) and really they aren't all that. Having a nice gym is convenient, the free food is nice from a money saving perspective, but I would ultimately prefer a higher salary, flexible hours with more time off, and being able to work from home than all of those tchotchkes.

Why would anyone treat contractors like employees? That's the point of hiring contractors.

You don't treat them like employees in terms of giving them all the benefits, but you do treat them like the rest of the team because it yields higher quality work. I've seen that play out from both sides of the fence on many occasions.

 

[Troidal]

Why would anyone treat contractors like employees? That's the point of hiring contractors.

Well, at least treat them like human beings man.

I'm not going on the offensive here, but are you the type of person who snobs contractors? Some people have no option but to do contractor or temp jobs when they can't find fulltime jobs man.

 

[kehs]

Well, at least treat them like human beings man.

I'm not going on the offensive here, but are you the type of person who snobs contractors? Some people have no option but to do contractor or temp jobs when they can't find fulltime jobs man.

I don't snub contractors...but I don't extend the same benefits as I would an employee.

I mean, unless they are going around spitting on contractors...

 

[Troidal]

I don't snub contractors...but I don't extend the same benefits as I would an employee.

I mean, unless they are going around spitting on contractors...

Of course, the pay and benefits are very different and that's sensible, no reason to complain there.

I was talking more about how some people do look down on them like we are of lesser intellect and as if we're uncivilized. That was an interesting experience to say the least.

 

[George Claw M.D.]

I actually applied for one of their intern positions about 3 months ago. Got a "thank you for applying" mail and then nothing afterwards. :S

Spoiler

Are there any Google Gaffers who can check for me?

I will, for $200.

Spoiler

I don't work at Google.