I did a DiSC (corporate Myers-Briggs-esque personality test) assessment and dominance was listed as one of the core motivators for people. I'm not sure I actually believe that; it feels like that was retconned into truth so it'd get past the decision-makers who may actually have that tendency. But maybe it is!

However, on the bright side, it is kind of nice that FAANG attracts the type of people who actually think this sort of constant stack ranking arena fighting is okay. Think about it: if they really hated it, they'd leave. Obviously the pay is a huge motivator, but if it was as distasteful as it was to many others, they wouldn't hang around.

I do appreciate that FAANG companies are a bit like fly traps, collecting those sorts of people somewhere else so I don't have to work with them personally.

But understand, I am not asserting that FAANG companies are places nobody wants to work. I'm asserting that they are places I am not willing to work at. It's because I would be utterly miserable in that sort of working environment, and there is no amount of compensation that could make that tolerable to me.

I'd still work there. For those comps I'd do a lot of things. My current job is already torture and doesn't pay nearly as well. But I guess that really a fictional problem for me since I'd never pass the interview.

As someone who has been there done that - read my other replies - I can say both that I don’t regret doing it and that I would not sacrifice my life now to ever go back to any large tech company or for the money.

I very much made two decisions this year after being Amazoned that prioritized my stress level over money.

1. Deciding not to put my shingle up and go independent. I have the network, the credentials and the knowledge to make more than I was making at Amazon going that route

2. Turning down a position that was going to be created for me by a former coworjer now director to be responsible for the cloud migration and infrastructure for a $7 billion public non tech company that would have also paid more in cash than my total comp at Amazon.

No, I never struck it rich in tech, I was a journeymen CRUD developer/architect when I got hired with two years of AWS experience and above average soft skills.

I feel the same way and would also never work at a FAANG.

That said, I suspect this is would be viewed as a benefit of the process since I'm fairly confident Amazon and the like don't want people who feel this way working for them regardless of the talent of those individual people.

Exactly this. “Are you willing to kill another human? No? Sorry, there’s no place for you in the infantry”

I feel a better analogy would involve (A) a demand that is outside the official job-description or duties and (B) isn't a fixed-bar but instead makes multiple employees fight each other in an indefinite race to the bottom.

Ex: "Are you willing to spend your free time becoming the General's #1 personal servant? No? Sorry, there's no place for you in the infantry."

I don't find better but more vague perhaps in attempt to sound nuanced.

If one goes by job description Amazon is acting strictly within those parameters. And that race to the bottom is not really hunger games.

On the other hand if one goes by unsaid rules of games, everyone including management, HR, employee know FAANG salary is multiple times of equivalent IT workers. And perhaps 95% of FAANG employees are not really developing new algorithms, hauling terabytes of data on their shoulders or being the force of good whatever that means. Just keep doing made-up work and wait until reach x million dollars goal. After that leave quietly or loudly by writing a nasty blog post lambasting management.

So mostly people understand they have to keep up the facade because talking about what's really happening will make it rather awkward for everyone.

The question should be the other way round, is there a place for them in civilised society.

Maybe their executives should stick to peeing in bottles.

Not all FAANG are like this. Google and Apple are known for being easy going. This of course depends on the team.

> Google and Apple are known for being easy going.

The engineers I know who work at those places wouldn't agree. But how true that is depends a lot on what sorts of things tend to bother you.

I'm surprised it hasn't spilled over to the rest of the industry, unlike their hiring practices.

It has. I went through this exact same PIP process with subjective improvement goals at Twilio. It was extremely stressful and I met all the goals but got fired anyway. In hindsight it was just a layoff.

I've never been through a PIP, but based on what I've seen with people who have, if I were put on a PIP that would be a strong signal that I'm not wanted there, so I'd just quit and save everyone the aggravation.

This is happening not only in FAANG companies but also a lot (if not, all) of companies. Unless you are in a hyper-growth company, you are more likely to see this kind of performance management process to continuously review and cut.