Bengaluru Google techie calls out viral 'day-in-the-life' videos by FAANG engineers: 'You don’t get paid to just enjoy'
According to Agarwal, most of the “day in the life” videos don’t reflect the long-term reality of working at tech giants.
A recent post by a Bengaluru-based Google techie has sparked a widespread discussion about life inside big tech companies. The post shared on X by user Priyansh Agarwal, a software engineer at Google, offers a candid glimpse into the reality behind the “day in the life” videos often circulating online.
According to Agarwal, most of these videos, which showcase seemingly glamorous routines, are captured during what he calls the “honeymoon period” - the first six to twelve months at companies like Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google (FAANG). These videos, he notes, don’t reflect the long-term reality.
“Most of the day in the life videos you see on the internet by FAANG engineers are from their honeymoon periods (first 6-12 months). The real game begins after a year when you start owning projects and outcomes for your team and realise that you don’t get paid to just enjoy,” Agarwal wrote in a post on X.
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Social media reactions
Agarwal’s post resonated with fellow tech professionals, many of whom agreed with his observation.
“A thing about FAANG bhaiya didis is that they never really talk about the engineering efforts they put behind their jobs,” commented one user.
“These day in the life vids are always from the honeymoon phase when it’s all chill and perfect for luring college kids into buying 3rd rate DSA courses. Once the audience is big enough, it’s ‘Why I quit FAANG to make content full-time.’ Because selling the dream beats building it,” wrote another.
“I used to be so fascinated about these things when they posted like oh they have the coolest office and best food. Now it doesn't excite me either,” said a third user.
“So basically… day-in-the-life vlogs are the trailer, but the real movie starts after 12 months,” jokingly wrote one user.
“ye mera ek mahine hi chla sayad, now 90% of time i spend only on my desk working,” remarked another.
