Pros
-Before the pandemic, Google's office perks were great. The free food, nap pods, and cool office layouts were especially impressive for those, like me, who had just graduated from college. -Google is known for its excellent support for permanent residency and visa sponsorship. They outsource to a top-notch legal provider to adjudicate cases, which makes a difference when working for a big company. -If you are lucky enough to get 20% opportunities or a good manager who allows you to expand your scope, you can learn new things and make a tangible impact on the organization.
Cons
-After the pandemic, the in-person collaboration went away, and the office perks became irrelevant. The company became remote-first, and if you wanted to maintain your salary, you were forced to move back or stay in the vicinity of HQ. Management would try to enforce those who did not come into the office to request remote, even though they did the same thing. -The level of red tape and bureaucracy is too high. -Poor management is a problem at Google. Managers are trying to become the next directors and VPs, but some of them lack the interpersonal and communication skills necessary for the job. -Overhiring during the pandemic led to bloated teams and favoritism from managers for scope and opportunities as the company shifted priorities. -Google touts a work-life balance culture, but managers can micromanage employees to complete everything before taking any time off, even sick time. It's not uncommon to be contacted during PTO by managers asking work-related questions or assigning action items. -Google has a reputation for hiring smart people, but I'm not sure what happened to the culture and level of the "high bar" to hire someone in the past couple of years...