Why I Declined my Google Job Offer and You Shouldn't
On December 30, 2019, the offer letter came through. I chuckled. An offer implies that the recipient still has a choice to accept or decline. Who would decline an offer from Google? I did.
Six years later, people still ask me "why did you do such a thing?", and I still sometimes wonder if I made the right decision myself. It's everyone's dream job, and there are many reasons to accept such an offer. In fact, to itemize such benefits would be superfluous.
I am writing this to share my experience, and to warn you against doing what I did. What I did was ruin my career because after an expensive 4-year degree in Computer Science with a minor in Electrical Engineering, intensive LeetCode-style prep, and five rounds of interviews, I declined that offer. And so, the reason for my decision must have been worth it at the time, but today, the consequences are drastically different than what I had expected.
My Disclaimer
As a disclaimer, I am not claiming to have made the best decision for myself. If you're looking for a justification to stick the middle finger to such prestige, that's not what this is going to be about. In fact, I would recommend you not do what I did.
It's important to realize that we'll be faced with many difficult decisions in our lives, which make high-impact outcomes, and that predicting the future based on our decisions is nontrivial. I can only grasp my own story, not the story that I would have had from making a different choice.
So Why Did I?
The important question: "Why did I?" Well, the list of reasons for which I declined is smaller than the one you can use to justify accepting it, but at that given moment, this small list was heavier:
- Passion for space
- Drive to influence
- Fear of complacency
Passion for Space
As a fresh graduate, my job search was expansive but was conclusive to 2 companies giving me offers: Google and Maxar. Maxar, or Space Systems Loral at the time of my applying, was like "the Google of space". In fact, my efforts to land an offer at Maxar were a bit more extensive as I was rejected once before a successful second attempt.
And that's who I decided on. I had turned down Google for Maxar, and I did it because of my passion for space. The root of such passion lies in my general curiosity. I've always been curious to know what lies in space, so advancing the development of space systems at Space Systems Loral seemed like a worthy approach.
My curiosity stems into an interest in the genre of Sci-Fi. I've always loved sci-fi games, shows, and movies, but not the fake ones like Star Wars and Star Trek :). Rather, I was captivated by movies like Cloverfield, the Matrix, and a show, The Expanse. I enjoyed games like Kerbal Space Program and Star Citizen.
My curiosity has also blossomed into a love for challenging problems. I've always challenged myself with intellectually stimulating problems because they are fun, and what's more intellectually stimulating than rocket science! (My role had nothing to do with rockets.) And, it was fun knowing that I was part of working with beloved NASA and enhancing our general development of space tech. After all, how else am I to justify spending almost half of my college life getting a minor in Electrical Engineering? (I still didn't.)
Drive to Influence
Moreover, I was able to deliver high-impact work while working for Maxar. I was involved in 3 different teams that worked on:
- Internal research and development which involved hot buzzwords: "AI", "Blockchain".
- An augmented reality app to assist manufacturing of satellites
- Ground station software to ingest, archive, and visualize telemetry of satellites
In short summary, I had brought a few modern practices to one team such as containerization, CI/CD, and cloud infrastructure with knowledge sharing and development to put these practices in place. My wings spread far and wide, but again, when I made that decision to turn down Google for Maxar, I couldn't predict the future, but I could make an estimate. To choose Maxar would allow me the opportunity to offer a more profound effect. And that's what I did.
I don't know what gives me the drive to influence, but that is something that I've always had. I simply like shaping people and things to be better by applying my skills.
Fear of Complacency
As much as I like to apply myself, I enjoy the journey in developing myself: my skills, knowledge, and character just as much. To become complacent in status, accomplishments, or merit is an absolute fear of mine. It is perhaps the number one reason for which I declined a job offer at Google. I fear that success would give me an excuse to become complacent and slowly impede my strive for growth. It feels as though I was a signature away from ending my life's struggles. Success felt sinister.
Am I a masochist? No. Do I find comfort in struggling? Perhaps.
In fact, I've only known how to struggle all my life, and I think I'm a better person because of it. And I struggle as a consequence of aiming high. Within me, there's a strong desire to be the best that I can be, and in doing so, I hold myself to the highest standard and frequently criticize my choices. This desire influences me to find opportunities to grow and allow myself to find even more success in the future. Well, that's the theory, anyways.
I can't predict what would have happened if I chose Google instead.
Today
These days, I wake up excited, neck-deep in robotics ML, and go to bed thinking about tomorrow's experiments. I'm solving problems that matter to me, not because they're assigned from some big corporate management. However, these decisions have made me work harder than ever before, and now, ironically, I am unemployed, struggling to find a job. Which is why, if you're ever lucky to find yourself receiving a prestigious offer like that, don't turn it down. Instead, accept that offer knowing firmly that you don't know the future.
That email from Google still sits in my archive. Sometimes I see it and wonder "what if?" But mostly, I see it as a reminder of my character.
If you're facing a similar decision, my DMs are open. No judgment, just conversation. Sometimes it helps to talk it through with someone who's been there.