The Alt-Ac Job Beat Newsletter Post 21

Hi Everyone,

One observation I have told multiple people recently is "don't worry about stack ranking". So some tech companies have what seem to be cut-throat environments, in which they stack rank employees and have expectations that the bottom are ultimately fired on a regular basis every year.

Coming from a place where you have a near guaranteed job (for those with tenure) that seems crazy. It isn't -- these companies are so big, there are 5% of people who are low performers and it is better that they be let go. When you ask departments about tenure, they will say something like "we will only hire you if we think you can make tenure", and it is the same in tech companies.

Note even if you are let go, tech companies often give several months of severance (in which you can look for another job). So the risk vs the increased salary to me is not that risky.

JOBS

Still posting to the job board

Recent ones include:

The bigger consulting firms (like Deloitte) will almost always have job openings. Some of which will involve travel and others that are more stationary (but you often have to ask which that job is once you talk to HR).

EXAMPLE SCIENTIST

Mike Huskey, PhD from UT Dallas in Criminology, is currently a Director Analyst at Gartner with a focus on cybersecurity applications (data and insider risk management).

Best, Andy Wheeler