Pros
I'm a 55 year old working in a company where the average age is 28, and I've never been happier. I have always wanted to work in a company where I wasn't the proverbial square peg, and after nearly 30 years in the work force, I believe that I have found the company that complements my ideology for how a company should operate. Here are the "Pros" as I see them...
- Leadership: Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, Chris Cox and the rest of the leadership team. Inspiring, smart and totally real.
- The Culture: The openness is a real thing, we're trusted to do the right thing, mistakes are expected, being yourself is important and encouraged, humility is encouraged and expected, building trust is paramount, the mission of making the world a more open and connected place isn't just a cool phrase because it guides everything. It's not about us, it's about everyone else.
- The People: Smart and nice is what I find. The diversity is better than any other company I've worked at and it's getting better. Those that are figuring out how to make what we do better for everyone are really good at implementing their ideas. Two years ago I didn't know what this company really was or if it had a secure future. I can clearly see now that they have what it takes to last, and it's sincere.
- Management: Managers are hired because they're good managers and not because they're good at something else. The management track is different than the contributor track and they're equal in importance.
- Benefits: Working in the Valley it's hard to differentiate all the benefits employees receive and Facebook is at least equal to all the major tech companies, but coming from Seattle the benefits are nothing short of incredible.
Granted, I haven't been with the company for very long and I'm still in the honeymoon period, but I can tell what's real and what's not; this place is for real.
Cons
Like any tech company, the work is big and complicated so work/life balance can suffer from time to time. The difference is that it's the passion within the individuals that drives them to work long hours and forego time off. Of course there can be times when schedule demands force the imbalance, but it's not such that 10-12 hours days become commonplace and expected regardless. We do what we do to get the job done; no one is killing themselves because there's an order to do so.
Being able to eat to your hearts/stomachs content can be dangerous to the waistline, but that's a self-control thing and not the company's issue.
