5 ms·

"only five years" that's a long time in my opinion to be at one company.

carabiner 5y ago
The original CNBC article https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/22/4chan-founder-chris-poole-moot-has-left-google.html https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/22/4chan-founder-chris-poole-mo... lacks this editorial spin. Tech people hop around a lot, 5 years is a solid tenure.
- scotth 5y ago
  And three positions inside the company seems about right as well.
  - seattle_spring 5y ago
    > Poole lasted just five years at Google, which CNBC notes is usually just long enough for any employee's shares attached to hiring to vest They make it sound like he barely managed to get any stock. That's like saying, "person worked at X for 1 year, just long enough to get 1 year's salary." Well, yeah, but if they left in 11 months they'd get 11 months salary. It's not like if Poole left at 1 year or 4 years or anything in between he would have left with anything different proportionally to his tenure. What an odd article.
    - dmoy 5y ago
      Also it doesn't really match with reality, since they'd usually get refresh grants and have a rolling four year window at all times. The article sounds like the reporter heard a soundbyte about google's typical four year vesting period, and then did zero actual research into what that means.
      - ryandrake 5y ago
        I don't know--I've heard a lot of people here noting the "4 year cliff" at most tech companies, not just Google. Not all companies give refreshes, and of those that do, it's usually not enough to make up for the initial grant going away. I left my last job pretty much on the day of my 4 year anniversary because I'd otherwise be taking a 25% comp hit in year 5. It's definitely a thing.
        pmkiwi 5y ago
        Pardon my ignorance but what is the "4 year cliff" exactly?
        bzbarsky 5y ago
        When you initially start at Google, say, you get an RSU grant that vests over 4 years. So for 4 years you are getting your salary and on some schedule also getting stock. The stock can be a quite large portion of your total compensation (as in, comparable to the base salary). After 4 years, unless you got refresher grants, your compensation is just your salary, so you effectively make less money than during the first 4 years. At that point the incentive is to move to some other company and start the 4-year clock again...
        pmkiwi 5y ago
        Ok got it! So I guess the only way for Google to keep the best performers is to eliminate this cliff by giving RSU and/or offering a significant pay increase. Thank you for the explanation ;)
    - somerandomness 5y ago
      It’s typical to get a larger 4-year grant at hire. It’s common to complain about comp drop after 4 years
- russdpale 5y ago
  Depends on the company, I work in tech but for an old company, 5 years isn't very long and there isn't much room for any movement.
  - tedivm 5y ago
    The fact that there's not room for movement is exactly why people leave companies, not a reason to stay.
    - russdpale 5y ago
      True, but this is a company where when I logged on the other day there was an article about a guy retiring after 52 years as a delivery driver. Yes, that's right, fifty two years at one company, although I imagine he did small package delivery and feeder work (trailer loads). So not just one position, but pretty close.
    - meepmorp 5y ago
      On the other hand, that kind of job is stable, pays well enough, and doesn't demand much outside of 9-5. For people with families, that's a lot more appealing than you'd think.
  - karmasimida 5y ago
    For Google it definitely is. Most people jump at 4 year cliff, if they have the option
- dang 5y ago
  Ah ok, we'll change the URL to that from https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/04/4chan-founder-chris-poole-leaves-google/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/04/4chan-founder-chris-.... Thanks! Actually we should already have changed it - that's standard practice when one article cribs from another. But I missed it in this case.
theandrewbailey 5y ago
Sounds like he moved around a bit, so it's not like he was working on just one thing for 5 years.
techsupporter 5y ago
Meanwhile, I've been at the same company for longer than a couple of my coworkers have been alive (though I've changed jobs twice in that time) so "only five years" sounds comparatively short to me.
- xtracto 5y ago
  My wife has been at her current company (large like freescale, flexctronics, jabil) for 8 solid years , and she is still going strong. Meanwhile I've been at 4 startups, from seed to Series B . I just get bored so easy.. after 3 or so years I NEED a change. Or maybe is because startups dont care about w/l balance and drain you until you quit.
  - datameta 5y ago
    This is not a hot take - genuinely curious as someone who had been at a few startups: do you think the fintech side of startups embodies the burn and churn strategy moreso than other sectors?
  - Graffur 5y ago
    So you never stick around to see your production code?
Andrex 5y ago
Ron Amadeo is a talented reporter but his transparent smarminess towards anything Google-related has become exhausting in recent years. A lot of the time it may be warranted. But just as often, like in this article, it definitely is not.
kingsuper20 5y ago
>only five years" that's a long time in my opinion to be at one company I've never worked anywhere where people were much use before 2-3 years in harness. Too much domain knowledge maybe.

The original CNBC article https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/22/4chan-founder-chris-poole-moot-has-left-google.html https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/22/4chan-founder-chris-poole-mo... lacks this editorial spin. Tech people hop around a lot, 5 years is a solid tenure.

scotth 5y ago
And three positions inside the company seems about right as well.
- seattle_spring 5y ago
  > Poole lasted just five years at Google, which CNBC notes is usually just long enough for any employee's shares attached to hiring to vest They make it sound like he barely managed to get any stock. That's like saying, "person worked at X for 1 year, just long enough to get 1 year's salary." Well, yeah, but if they left in 11 months they'd get 11 months salary. It's not like if Poole left at 1 year or 4 years or anything in between he would have left with anything different proportionally to his tenure. What an odd article.
  - dmoy 5y ago
    Also it doesn't really match with reality, since they'd usually get refresh grants and have a rolling four year window at all times. The article sounds like the reporter heard a soundbyte about google's typical four year vesting period, and then did zero actual research into what that means.
    - ryandrake 5y ago
      I don't know--I've heard a lot of people here noting the "4 year cliff" at most tech companies, not just Google. Not all companies give refreshes, and of those that do, it's usually not enough to make up for the initial grant going away. I left my last job pretty much on the day of my 4 year anniversary because I'd otherwise be taking a 25% comp hit in year 5. It's definitely a thing.
      - pmkiwi 5y ago
        Pardon my ignorance but what is the "4 year cliff" exactly?
        bzbarsky 5y ago
        When you initially start at Google, say, you get an RSU grant that vests over 4 years. So for 4 years you are getting your salary and on some schedule also getting stock. The stock can be a quite large portion of your total compensation (as in, comparable to the base salary). After 4 years, unless you got refresher grants, your compensation is just your salary, so you effectively make less money than during the first 4 years. At that point the incentive is to move to some other company and start the 4-year clock again...
        pmkiwi 5y ago
        Ok got it! So I guess the only way for Google to keep the best performers is to eliminate this cliff by giving RSU and/or offering a significant pay increase. Thank you for the explanation ;)
  - somerandomness 5y ago
    It’s typical to get a larger 4-year grant at hire. It’s common to complain about comp drop after 4 years
russdpale 5y ago
Depends on the company, I work in tech but for an old company, 5 years isn't very long and there isn't much room for any movement.
- tedivm 5y ago
  The fact that there's not room for movement is exactly why people leave companies, not a reason to stay.
  - russdpale 5y ago
    True, but this is a company where when I logged on the other day there was an article about a guy retiring after 52 years as a delivery driver. Yes, that's right, fifty two years at one company, although I imagine he did small package delivery and feeder work (trailer loads). So not just one position, but pretty close.
  - meepmorp 5y ago
    On the other hand, that kind of job is stable, pays well enough, and doesn't demand much outside of 9-5. For people with families, that's a lot more appealing than you'd think.
- karmasimida 5y ago
  For Google it definitely is. Most people jump at 4 year cliff, if they have the option
dang 5y ago
Ah ok, we'll change the URL to that from https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/04/4chan-founder-chris-poole-leaves-google/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/04/4chan-founder-chris-.... Thanks! Actually we should already have changed it - that's standard practice when one article cribs from another. But I missed it in this case.

theandrewbailey 5y ago

Sounds like he moved around a bit, so it's not like he was working on just one thing for 5 years.

techsupporter 5y ago

Meanwhile, I've been at the same company for longer than a couple of my coworkers have been alive (though I've changed jobs twice in that time) so "only five years" sounds comparatively short to me.

xtracto 5y ago
My wife has been at her current company (large like freescale, flexctronics, jabil) for 8 solid years , and she is still going strong. Meanwhile I've been at 4 startups, from seed to Series B . I just get bored so easy.. after 3 or so years I NEED a change. Or maybe is because startups dont care about w/l balance and drain you until you quit.
- datameta 5y ago
  This is not a hot take - genuinely curious as someone who had been at a few startups: do you think the fintech side of startups embodies the burn and churn strategy moreso than other sectors?
- Graffur 5y ago
  So you never stick around to see your production code?

Andrex 5y ago

Ron Amadeo is a talented reporter but his transparent smarminess towards anything Google-related has become exhausting in recent years. A lot of the time it may be warranted. But just as often, like in this article, it definitely is not.

kingsuper20 5y ago

>only five years" that's a long time in my opinion to be at one company I've never worked anywhere where people were much use before 2-3 years in harness. Too much domain knowledge maybe.