Only if I was working in a Big Tech company

Grass is always greener on the other side

The Paradox of Success

Life throws us curveballs. We often imagine a clear line between happiness and misery, with struggling job seekers on one end and thriving tech employees on the other. But reality is rarely so black and white.

Just yesterday, I visited a friend at Google, a prestigious company with a highly competitive acceptance rate. She’s an APM (Associate Product Manager), a coveted role many dream of. Her inbox overflows with praise and admiration. Yet, beneath the surface, she confessed a deep unhappiness. The company culture and values clashed with her own, leading to burnout. After a brief meditation session, she made a surprising decision — to take medical leave. Within a few hours, she’d secured the necessary approvals and informed her team, determined to prioritize her well-being.

Lost but Not Hopeless

This encounter sparked a conversation with another friend, a veteran of ten years in machine learning at Apple. He resonated with my Google friend’s story. “Misery seems to be a common thread in Big Tech,” he admitted. The financial stability might be a perk, but it wasn’t enough to compensate for the soul-crushing work environment. When I asked about his post-quitting…