Working for a Mega Corp sounds interesting, am I nuts?

[Craig]

CFB hit that nail on the head. Doing the business of the business is critical for advancement ... this is one reason many financial types have poor job security.

 

[saluki9]

Oh sorry, what I meant was a financial mega corp (ML, MS, Goldman, lehman, etc.)

I know that working outside of a profit center is a sure way to zero job security.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Then you're just in the "fish in a big pond" scenario.

Profit centers generally are good but in my experience, not good enough. Stick with the core business. That might be the case in finance as well, although I've never worked for a financial services firm. Whats their core business? Is it investment banking? Thats where you want to be. Other groups/divisions might be bringing in the cash, but you can bet that managements eyeballs and wallets are predominately on their core business.

Rewards and job security will always be at least marginally better there.

Example I can relate to: you work at microsoft, you want to either be working on Windows or the strategy to beat Google.

 

[vvsonikvv]

CFB hit that nail on the head. Doing the business of the business is critical for advancement ... this is one reason many financial types have poor job security.

But isn't there always the "corporate" staff that must do functions to keep the company running? HR, accounting, marketing, business development, etc? I guess in a sense the core business is the core business, but the other depts are very very very important to keeping things right.

So this may be how the industry views the 'other' departments. Do you think that's the 'right' way to view things? I guess it's almost like the cleaning staff that vacuums, and cleans the office at night after everyone has left. They aren't 'important' or even part of the company, but if they don't do their job, your job will be much harder with all the extra materials not disposed of.

I guess this also stems down to those 'lower' jobs many interns/entry level have. For example, 'tech support'- fixing printers, networking, troubleshooting software/hardware, copies, meeting logistics - meeting minutes/notes, meeting preparations, event scheduling, etc.

None of this directly brings in more customers, closes the deal, etc, but without these 'key' people the company would collapse. No way in hell would any 'Oh I get paid 6 figures managers' actually do these 'low jobs' - make copies, actually change the toner in the printer, empty out the trashcan when it is full. Atleast thats how it is where I am.

What about the little guys? the other people? This analogy can goto MegaCorp- where alot of people are the little guys, to small company where everyone is important.


(if this has shifted the topic, let me know I can create a new topic, though its somewhat similar).

 

[Nords]

But isn't there always the "corporate" staff that must do functions to keep the company running? HR, accounting, marketing, business development, etc? I guess in a sense the core business is the core business, but the other depts are very very very important to keeping things right.

A friend of mine ran FedEx's training department, converting it from classroom videos to websites with interactive tutorials & quizzes. They hauled it into the 21st century, made it widely accessible, and greatly enhanced the offerings. He was a god among mortals for reducing the company's training costs by something like 70%.

Until the price of jet fuel went up. They they decided to recoup the other 30% of his budget, too...

I guess it's almost like the cleaning staff that vacuums, and cleans the office at night after everyone has left. They aren't 'important' or even part of the company, but if they don't do their job, your job will be much harder with all the extra materials not disposed of.

What is this "cleaning staff" of which you speak?

Maybe this was just me, but I worked in a room that had last been remodeled in the '70s. It had fake maple panelling & puke green indoor/outdoor carpeting with no windows, all the luxuries a submariner could want.

In the nearly five years I worked there, the carpet was vacuumed maybe three times and eventually replaced. I hauled my own trash and occasionally dusted horizontal surfaces. I pretty much cleaned up after myself and existed without a cleaning staff. So why would a company need a cleaning staff-- is that considered a perk?

None of this directly brings in more customers, closes the deal, etc, but without these 'key' people the company would collapse. No way in hell would any 'Oh I get paid 6 figures managers' actually do these 'low jobs' - make copies, actually change the toner in the printer, empty out the trashcan when it is full. At least thats how it is where I am.

I dunno... I used to do all that stuff too, which at least made it easier to claim that I was hauling my own weight.

I bet a lot of small business entrepreneurs do their own tech support, too.

 

[Craig]

vvsonikvv ??

What about the little guys?  The corporate staff that you perceive as important?  Do I / we think that is the "right" way to view things?

Well, the little guys lose / quit their jobs regularly, because, frankly, it is easier to find someone who can clean the office than it is to find someone who can haul in a multi-million dollar account, manage thousands of people or create software that is in high demand.

Corporate staff get fired first when times are tight, unless top management is full of idiots.  You can usually get by with a few less accountants, or you can replace them with better IT ... but you need to serve the customer, or you are out of business.

Is it "right"?  With respect, the heart of your question is not pertinent to business, and this is not a question of ethics.  Business isn't about whether we feel like we should honor accountants more (and, I started as one) ... it is about survival, winning in the contest with your competition, helping good people become great so they can build the company / team, and providing a great return to investors (like those on this forum) so those investors will continue giving us their hard-earned money and we can continue growing their investments.

Companies that decide they can put their emotions ahead of investors and customers go out of business on a regular basis.  That isn't cold, and that doesn't mean you cheat or hurt people as you do business ... but it does mean that you are logical about what is critical.  The alternative, frankly, is that you hurt many, many more people by making the emotional decisions that are foolish for the business.  In that case, everyone loses their jobs, the investors lose their money, and sometimes it gets bad enough that entire communities can be hurt.  Ask someone in Detroit ...

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

But isn't there always the "corporate" staff that must do functions to keep the company running? HR, accounting, marketing, business development, etc? I guess in a sense the core business is the core business, but the other depts are very very very important to keeping things right.

So this may be how the industry views the 'other' departments. Do you think that's the 'right' way to view things? I guess it's almost like the cleaning staff that vacuums, and cleans the office at night after everyone has left. They aren't 'important' or even part of the company, but if they don't do their job, your job will be much harder with all the extra materials not disposed of.

I guess this also stems down to those 'lower' jobs many interns/entry level have. For example, 'tech support'- fixing printers, networking, troubleshooting software/hardware, copies, meeting logistics - meeting minutes/notes, meeting preparations, event scheduling, etc.

None of this directly brings in more customers, closes the deal, etc, but without these 'key' people the company would collapse. No way in hell would any 'Oh I get paid 6 figures managers' actually do these 'low jobs' - make copies, actually change the toner in the printer, empty out the trashcan when it is full. Atleast thats how it is where I am.

What about the little guys? the other people? This analogy can goto MegaCorp- where alot of people are the little guys, to small company where everyone is important.


(if this has shifted the topic, let me know I can create a new topic, though its somewhat similar).

The little guys are important...and highly RIFable and replaceable...and fairly invisible to the people that can dole out serious moolah. They're also very helpful to the small number of people who figure out that they should be doing something a little more visible.

Everybody has to start somewhere. Just dont frickin' sit there for 10 years. At some point, ideally right at the beginning of the job search if you have skills, find out what the company does and what the senior managers care about. Then go engage on that.

Topic changes are a way of life around here...

 

[vvsonikvv]

The little guys are important...and highly RIFable and replaceable...and fairly invisible to the people that can dole out serious moolah. They're also very helpful to the small number of people who figure out that they should be doing something a little more visible.

Everybody has to start somewhere. Just dont frickin' sit there for 10 years. At some point, ideally right at the beginning of the job search if you have skills, find out what the company does and what the senior managers care about. Then go engage on that.

Topic changes are a way of life around here...

Ok forget the little guy part... So you're at a Tech Firm... Accounting, marketing, HR, etc are all HUGE parts of the company, no ? Without marketing your product goes no where, sold to no one. No one knows about your product/services/etc...

Is that like having a huge engine, but square wheels, or no brakes? Don't you need a WHOLE company? You can't judge a car just by the big roaring engine right? The other parts that connect to it all matter?

 

[HFWR]

Makes perfect sense to me, but CFB's still dead on...

 

[kumquat]

I wouldn't be FI and thinking about RE if I hadn't gone to work for mega-corp and enjoyed their stock options. No, not a dot-com but a mining outfit.

It has its advantages, but the disadvantages are very real too.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

and I didnt say there was anything wrong with marketing, as long as you're marketing the core product. I'll bet some folks have ER'ed from marketing jobs...

You absolutely need the whole thing, which means you need people who can and will do all those little jobs and work on those lesser projects.

Sticking with the tech analogy, i'm sure the guys who work on Office do nicely at microsoft. Hell, the "Microsoft Bob" product manager married Bill Gates, so there are certainly ways to excel even when working on a lower tier product

The binding ties are necessary. But back to my original point, it behooves one to not be one of those.

 

[saluki9]

Hell, the "Microsoft Bob" product manager married Bill Gates, so there are certainly ways to excel even when working on a lower tier product

Ways to excel, HA!

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Sometimes I do nice work

 

[Cut-Throat]

How nuts am I?

Really nuts - but for other reasons.

 

[REWahoo]

Really nuts - but for other reasons.

My first thought was this is a CHP. Then I realized everything is spelled correctly!

 

[Cut-Throat]

My first thought was this is a CHP. Then I realized everything is spelled correctly!

Actually, I spell my best when I've had a few. - Never could spell. - If I've had a few, I have enough sense to use a spell checker.

 

[Nords]

If I've had a few, I have enough sense to use a spell checker.

I was at a military board the other day where the software includes a spellcheck button and the moderators (at least one in particular) are vicious spelling & grammar authoritarians. Sort of a "last bastion of liberty & literacy" attitude.

I bet Dory could have a lot of fun customizing a spellchecker for this board...

 

[BunsGettingFirm]

Ok forget the little guy part... So you're at a Tech Firm... Accounting, marketing, HR, etc are all HUGE parts of the company, no ? Without marketing your product goes no where, sold to no one. No one knows about your product/services/etc...

Is that like having a huge engine, but square wheels, or no brakes? Don't you need a WHOLE company? You can't judge a car just by the big roaring engine right? The other parts that connect to it all matter?

HR can be outsourced, and it was right after I left my last job (not related to my leaving). I have never experienced outsourced HR, but my opinion of in-house HR isn't that high either. Trying to get an unequivocal answer out them is like pulling teeth.

 

[mudbuddha]

[One potential mega-corp advantage is that being just a small cog in the operation, you might find it possible to spend a significant amount of time crusing the web and researching FIRE topics while getting paid for it.]

I concur 100%    Do what ya have to do to maintain the status quo and no one will question your ability or integrity.

Duke

 

[cube_rat]

I'm sometimes amazed at the sheer brain power contained in these RE threads....

I do concur on the outsourcing trend.  I work for a very large mega-corporation and the IT strategy is just that:  IT will eventually be 100% focused on delivering on business strategy --> period.  All else will be outsourced.  Our infrastructure group (the largest expense hog) was outsourced to a blue company which has already started to employ economies of scale with matching the newly absorbed group and in it's own organizational structure.  It's all about business at the end of the day. 

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Oh yeah...IT...one other piece of advice when going to work for a mega corp.

In a job like IT (and I ran about a third of the IT shop for a megacorp for a while), your greatest upside in performing your job is that nobody notices. You will get dinged for outages, late programs and projects, products and services that dont meet peoples expectations. You will very rarely get a pat on the back for 452 consecutive days with no outages

Make sure the positive outcome of your job is noticeable, and while cost savings and vague productivity boosts are pleasing to the ear, they dont measure up when it comes time to measure your performance.

I was made painfully aware of this when doing a group review session. It was for a weird classification, a very high end technical, non program managing individual contributor. Generally people at this grade level were second line managers or ran big programs. We just didnt have very many around, and not enough to do a full session, so we consolidated some other divisions. The guy I represented did awesome work, it was essential to the business and nobody else could have done a better job than he did. The other guys from the other divisions engineered products that made the company billions of dollars or created manufacturing processes that increased yields by 30% and created more billions.

I figured I'd be getting some top dollars for the guy I represented, and I didnt do badly for him, but the stark contrast was very enlightening.