By LI Xinting, GUAN Diudiu
As a computer science major, CHENG Shuai never had any doubt that he wanted a big tech job. The annual pay is sometimes as much as 700,000 yuan (US$110k) for fresh graduates and there is plenty of prestige attached. To prepare, Cheng practiced over 700 coding questions, did mock interviews with his friends, and interned at Microsoft. After two years, he landed a job at Bytedance.
It wasn’t the only offer he got but he knew what he was looking for. “Programmers in the future are only going to be smarter and technically stronger. How do I stay ahead of the game?” The answer is to work with the best and make the greatest products.
Improve yourself
Not everyone relishes the big tech experience. LIU Jiaze, who is to start at Tencent full time this fall, is already worried. During her internship there last summer, she averaged five hours of sleep a day. “Once I was in the office until 3 am. In the end, I couldn't even keep my eyes open,” she said. The money was good, but saving money was hard. “There isn’t much left after rent and expenses.” Her goal, she said, was to make as much money for as long as she could.
She felt lucky to have been assigned to a good team. Her coworkers were friendly and helpful, but not every team had the same dynamic. There isn’t necessarily much sense of achievement from the work, either. “Most people get mediocre reviews, receive mediocre pays, live their mediocre lives, and wait to be laid off at 35,” she said.
With layoffs and concerns about overwork, young people are beginning to have second thoughts about Big tech. Nevertheless, the competition has only intensified. Applicants are categorized based on their school, internship, and skills, leaving many overworked, stressed, and trapped in a perpetual self-improvement arms race.
First to go
YAO Kexin has an overseas graduate degree and an internship at the gaming giant NetEase, but didn’t even get an interview for any job. She heard that tech giants are only interested in graduates from top colleges and those who don’t meet the criteria, herself among them, are rejected outright.
Her time at NetEase made her wonder if the big tech was what she wanted. She felt isolated. On her second day, an entire group was laid off. She got disillusioned and depressed. “There was a period when I cried every day after work,” she said. She’s now back in her hometown, a small second-tier city, looking for a job there.
For some, saying no to big tech is a conscious decision. WU Zuojun, who networked with a small software company, said a job she likes is far more important than prestige. Training matters too. Many people observed that big tech companies hire a large number of foot soldiers in times of expansion but do not necessarily provide them with professional guidance or mentorship. These new hires are, unsurprisingly, the first to be let go when the market turns.
Mediocre prospects
An increasing number of them articulate their choice as a balance between career prospects, lifestyle, and the work itself. LU Jing worked part-time at a big hardware company for three years in college but gave up on a full-time offer. Many analytical tasks, despite “big tech,” were surprisingly manual and mind-numbing, and he often wondered, after pulling another all-nighter, what everything was for.
If passed over for promotion, the career prospects for an overpaid and undertrained middle manager are not particularly clear. Now he works at a research institute, which offers decent job security as well as work-life balance. “I don’t feel burned out, at least,” he said.
