General Business Updates and News

[plam]

Yes. However, I'm not sure that Google, Microsoft, and Facebook are that different in that respect. Work/life balance can be hard to find in these jobs.

Knowing multiple people at all four companies, I think Markster is pretty accurate. Amazon definitely has a reputation for being the worst, while Google has the opposite reputation, with most friends there working pretty consistent 40 hour weeks.

That said, I'll still be pretty happy if Amazon HQ2 goes to Toronto (or KW, but I see that as much less likely). It'll put significant upward pressure on Canadian salaries, which compare very poorly against American ones even accounting for cost of living. That will go a long ways to reducing the current Canadian brain drain. Most friends would prefer to stay in Canada, but feel the career opportunities just aren't there and the salaries are too low to ignore the gap.

Yes, there is about a 50% difference in salary for new Software Engineering grads in the US vs Canada according to survey data. The cost of living is higher, but not that much higher. People do want to return to Canada but it's hard to turn down the money.

It is definitely true that Google has way better perks than Amazon. But I was talking to someone who was talking to a bunch of people at the Google Boulder office and was struck by how unhappy they were, as they weren't working 40 hour weeks. Not sure if that is a Boulder phenomenon. It may be true that, on average, Amazon has worse conditions. I don't know.