Name: Big Tech Is Not A Monolith
Uploaded: 2025-11-21T20:05:34+00:00
Duration: 2 min 21 s
Description: Although Big Tech is often discussed as if it's a uniform experience, that assumption doesn't hold up under scrutiny

Big Tech Is Not A Monolith

Although Big Tech is often discussed as if it's a uniform experience, that assumption doesn't hold up under scrutiny. The session clarifies that these companies—and even teams within them—can differ dramatically in culture, structure, and day-to-day work.

- **Big Tech is not a monolith**: Companies like Google, Amazon, Meta, Apple, and Microsoft may appear similar, but each has distinct norms and quirks. For example, Apple and Amazon differ significantly in operating style.

- **Team-level variation is substantial**: Within any large company—especially one with thousands of engineering teams—there’s huge internal variability. At Google, for instance, it’s unrealistic to expect all teams to operate the same way.

- **Meta as a case study in divergence**: Meta operates almost like four separate companies due to its major acquisitions (Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus), each with its own leadership structure and internal culture.

- **Caveat for the audience**: The content that follows reflects common experiences shared by 70–80% of Big Tech engineers, but there will be outliers. Some parts may resonate; others may not—and that’s normal.

- **Goal of the session**: To provide general patterns across Big Tech rather than one-size-fits-all rules, acknowledging the complexity and nuance involved.

Although Big Tech is often discussed as if it's a uniform experience, that assumption doesn't hold up under scrutiny