Reflection from a Silicon Valley insider

Consider what makes you happy. In your pursuit of happiness at work, whether you’re picking a career or changing a team or company, consider the following: money, power, domain, people, and growth—not in a particular order. Your miles may vary, depending on the life stage you are in.

Money, obviously important.

This does not matter for internal transfers, as they are often lateral moves.

Looking outside (of Big Tech) in Silicon Valley, people fantasize about startups and sudden riches. On the other hand, statistically speaking, the few top tech companies often pay (much) better in terms of expected value than typical startups. Think about your whole family situation. Does your spouse bring in big checks, giving you more flexibility? How stable are their jobs?

For people with the benefit of a good cushion, remember to ask: what would you do if you were not afraid (about money)?

There’s also the famous saying that when offered a seat on a rocket ship, you don’t ask which seat.

Power, the sense of control.

How much influence do you have in an organization and across the company?

How much autonomy do you have working on things you enjoy? That gives more energy than it consumes.

Domain, the type of things we work on.

We are technologists; we must be intrigued and passionate about our domain. You can only excel in this pursuit if you are passionate about what you do, always curious to learn more and have an opinion on how to do it well. One of the yardsticks I’d use is to ask yourself, do you rather watch TikTok videos in your spare time or read tech/business news and papers in your domain? Are you excited about the product you are creating, or is that merely a vehicle to the next paycheck?

If you put money and power very high, chances are you won’t go very far.

People, while a cliche, it is really all about people.

Even truer is that people stay and leave for their managers.

How are your key partners? Do you admire them as professionals and people? Do you learn from them?

Do you have a strong trust circle to weather inevitable storms? Have you established a shared theory of mind with them?

This also makes leaving a company you’ve worked for a long time very hard, as there are few ways to know the people you will work with from interviews alone. Culture can be a generic barometer.

Growth, a sense of progress.

Are you learning? It can be anything: technology, product, business, soft skills, organization intrigues. Are you gaining the experience you want?

Is your organization’s mission exciting and inspiring so that you can learn and become a better version of yourself?

And one last thing: Are You Having Fun at Work?

To have fun at work, you need to be energy-positive. Work itself should not be a net drain on your creative energy. Do you feel well-rested and energized to return to work on a Monday morning?