I Want to be a Googler!

by Melissa Sicat (first entry)

Don't get me wrong. Being a lawyer is still my ultimate ambition. However, every once in a while I would imagine what life has to offer had I chosen another career path. On a lighter, sillier note, when I get bored, I would make this top ten list of my "dream jobs". Currently, after reading an article in Time Magazine, number one in that list is to be a "Googler". Yes, that's what you call a person who works for Google. Being a Googler means being a software engineer, web designer or IT professional (talk about having far fetched dreams!). It also means having the privilege of working at Googleplex, Google's headquarters located in Mountainview, California (I think in 2006, Google moved its main branch in Manhattan, New York City. I have yet to confirm this though).

Google is infamous for its unique company culture. Googleplex's environment says it all. As I have read from Wikipedia, Googleplex's lobby is decorated with a piano, lava lamps, and a projection of search queries on the wall. Its hallways are full of exercise balls and bicycles (nice!). In addition to the recreation rooms, there are snack rooms stocked with various food and drinks. You can get haircuts, work out in the gym, attend subsidized exercise classes, study Mandarin, Japanese, Spanish and French and even ask a personal concierge to arrange dinner reservations. A Googler who has a hectic schedule can get plenty of errands done while at work. They can do laundry for free in company washers and dryers (with free detergent) or drop off dry cleaning.

The company has 11 gourmet cafeterias where Googlers enjoy gourmet dishes from around the world. It also offers services like yoga, pilates and even massages. "Newglers" are entitled to the services of a professional massage therapist for free through "massage coupons". Googlers can also play beach volleyball inside the premises of Googleplex. Other fun activities /stuff include foosball, videogames, pool tables, ping pong and roller hockey in the parking lot. I think the main objective of the company is to give its work premises a college-like atmosphere. Google even provides motorized scooters for employees to use when travelling around the premises. How cool is that?

Aside from being enticed by the awesome job perks, I was also amazed by the idealism of Google's staff and management. Google's corporate philosophy embodies such casual principles such as "you can make money without doing evil", "you can be serious without a suit", and (this is my favorite) "work should be challenging but the challenge should be fun". As one of the Googlers would say, Googleplex is a scientist's paradise. The official mission statement of the company is to "organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful". Hence, being able to work for Google means being able to help billions of people in the world, most of whom you haven't even met (or seen). I also find it amazing how technology, aside from helping people find jobs, could also generate the coolest, most radical, innovative occupations no one would have ever imagined in the past few decades.

So, if you are an idealistic, highly motivated, technology oriented person, Google is for you. For the mean time, I'll just have to stop daydreaming and start studying for my JudRev class tomorrow. Haay.

*Sources: Wikipedia.com, Forbes.com, Google.com, Time Magazine (I forgot what issue. I lost the magazine, no thanks to typhoon Ondoy)