Despite its size, still a rewarding and inspiring place to work
Pros
Google takes on big, audacious, challenging problems that give you the opportunity to impact the world. You're surrounded by brilliant people who work hard, get things done, and inspire you to elevate your game. There are inspiring, world-changing projects all around you, and even if you have not yet had the opportunity to work on one, I find satisfaction just being able to observe from the inside. Larry has done an amazing job transforming the company from one known for world-class engineering to one that also understands and appreciates design and the more human side of building great products. Maybe most of all, I love working at a place that values human rights, diversity, and acceptance.
Cons
The company is huge, there's no denying it. Larry and his team do a great job of keeping things nimble and making the company feel much smaller than it is, but no one can say it feels like a small company anymore. In a company filled with hard workers and overachievers, it's easy to get too caught up on pay, the performance review process, and getting promoted. This is one reason why maintaining a good work-life balance can be challenging. And as open and egalitarian as Google tries to be, their compensation system is very opaque, which creates an information asymmetry between employer and employee. (Not different from most places, it's just that Google makes itself out to be open, but this is one area where they are not.) Some product groups value excellence and quality more than others, but that's probably true anywhere.
