mgce

You sound like you have a chip on your shoulder.

The free perks are great, but are not the core reason that make Google's work environment compelling for the many that love it (and they don't offer unlimited time off, although I know you don't mean that literally).

Google offers a very healthy working environment for many people. It's a large and diverse company. Not everyone loves it here, of course. But many do, and it's clear it's offering an environment that has real value and pull, and tries hard to respect and empower those of us down in the trenches.

I appreciate your perspective, but would like to add a few quibbles:

I'm a big fan of the strict coding style. It enforces a consistency that I think has real value at only a temporary cost in adjusting your coding habits, which quickly (in my experience) becomes second nature. That said, I understand opinions can differ on this.

Readability is not required to submit code. It's nice to have it, of course, but it's not a blocker to productivity.

One of my favorite things about Google is their, still legitimate in my eyes, sincere desire to defeat bureaucracy as much as humanly possible for a company that is obviously at this point so big and complex. They have multiple initiatives on this front with decent exposure and I think the success on these fronts is palpable. But obviously it isn't and can't be the same as a startup in this regard.