Why I won’t work for big tech (at least… for now)

I thought working in big tech like at “a Microsoft” would give me fulfilment

My stint in big tech was rather… short.

I thought working in big tech like at “a Microsoft” would give me fulfilment because I’ve been following the tech industry since high school. When I eventually “summited big tech mountain” it wasn’t the view I wanted and felt like an overcrowded Everest.

Everest’s summit is overcrowded now because tourism is making the trek accessible for almost anyone

So let me tersely explain why I won’t work for big tech… at least for now. Before I do, I want to recognize that I have great friends working in big tech so this is not my opinion of them and their work.

First, I don’t work well with people in bigger companies, I’m a generalist or “startup dog” as I call it. I like to be scrappy, messy, and in a “get shit done” kind of way, but in my experience this rubs people off the wrong way. However, I’m learning boundaries to help me be more tolerant of people, which will make them more tolerant towards me.

Second is big tech’s “seduction of comfort”. I found big tech paradoxical; you’re given all these incredible perks that evoke “comfort” but you’re expected to achieve. My mind is not smart enough to overcome material comfort in order to perform, if anything it makes me feel like a spoiled child.

Thus, big tech wasn’t for me and that’s totally fine. It’s more obvious now that I rather build my own mountain top with the freedom and gusto that I have finally reclaimed to love about myself.

Photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash

Word count: 246
Twitter: @bhavprajapati

Fiftytwo250, a collection of random, recurring, ruminations written with patience for depth and brevity. Each post is written over the course of a week in 250 words or less as a personal exercise of freedom and focus in a time of placid tumult and despair.