Tech Companies Do Offer the Best Snacks and Perks
Tech companies have a reputation that can make it hard to separate the facts from the fiction. While some of what people think about them is completely false, a lot of it is still true. From tech employees being night owls to an obsession with disruption, here are 20 tech industry stereotypes that are true.
1. A Coffee Culture
Coffee is part of everyday life if you work in the tech industry. It's the lifeblood of most companies, probably because of the long hours. Developers, designers, and engineers often rely on one or more cups of coffee to make it through every sprint and meeting.
2. Hoodies are Part of the Work Uniform
At some point, hoodies became synonymous with tech culture. You can always find a pic of Mark Zuckerberg in a hoodie in front of his computer. Hoodies are casual, comfortable, and send a subtle message that creativity matters more to culture than dress codes.
3. Endless Snacks and Perks
Everyone wants to work at a tech company after hearing about the endless stream of snacks and perks. Many tech companies stock their kitchens with protein bars, kombucha, and fancy chips. Employees at larger tech companies often get free lunches or fun perks like cereal walls and ice cream fridges.
4. A Culture for Night Owls
Many companies in the tech industry partake in late-night coding sprints or brainstorming sessions. It's also normal to see developers plugging away well into the night until they fix a bug. One reason for this is that tech employees often have to collaborate with colleagues who are in other time zones.
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5. Startups Work Out of Garages
We've all heard about startups being born in garages of suburban homes, and it's somewhat true. Of course, not every company starts this way, but many are only able to start in a scrappy and makeshift office. It might be a garage, dorm room, or basement until they have enough money to rent office space.
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6. Obsessed with Disruption
The tech industry was built on the pillar of disrupting traditional industries to make something bigger and bolder. This stereotype is true, as tech culture thrives on the idea of disruption. This can mean challenging the norms of certain industries or reinventing the status quo.
7. Founders are Often College Dropouts
The lore surrounding tech magnates like Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, and Bill Gates dropping out of college to build empires has some truth to it. It's not always the case, as many tech founders are Ivy League-trained, but the tech industry values vision over degrees.
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8. Tech Offices Look Like Playgrounds
Many tech companies have ping pong tables and nap pods or even a slide between floors. Often, they are designed to resemble playgrounds more than the offices of multi-million-dollar companies.
9. There's A Lot of Jargon
Tech companies love to say, "pivot", "MVP", or "scale". Their conversations are laced with buzzwords, meaning the stereotype about tech companies using jargon-heavy language is true. Most of it stems from needing a quick way to convey complex ideas.
10. Obsessed with Productivity Tools
Tech companies are always looking for a way to streamline something or be more efficient. From Notion and Slack to Trello, management of tech companies are always looking for productivity tools to find the one that will make their operations speedier.
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11. Developers Hate Meetings
This stereotype is absolutely true. Developers prefer uninterrupted time to code, and meetings just get in the way. Many enjoy and thrive in "deep work" where even a quick meeting can break their concentration for the rest of the day.
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12. Obsession with Side Projects
In the tech space, it's normal for workers to have side hustles. These are passion projects, like developing an app or game, that they pursue outside their day jobs.
13. Long Hours
This stereotype is more specific to tech startups, but it still rings true. Many tech companies require employees to work 60 to 80 hours a week to meet their organizational goals. This can cause problems for employees' work-life balance, but it's sometimes just part of the job.
14. Engineers Love Hackathons
Hackathons are intense coding sessions that can last for hours. The goal is for teams to build a product in 24 to 48 hours. This practice is wildly popular in the tech industry and can often birth amazing products or quickly solve big problems.
15. Tech Workers Hate Phone Calls
You should probably never call a tech worker. Instead, message them on Slack, Discord, or Teams. Messaging allows for less interruption and makes asynchronous conversation easier.
16. Everyone Wants to Be the Next Unicorn
Every startup or young tech company wants to be the next billion-dollar unicorn. Founders pitch investors with big ideas and visions, prioritizing growth in the name of massive valuations. The tech industry is obsessed with achieving unicorn status.
17. Free Swag
The level of free swag that a tech worker gets depends on the company they work for. Regardless, free swag is definitely a thing in the tech industry. It's treated as marketing gold, and employees proudly wear and flaunt the items they get.
18. Open Offices are Normal
Tech companies love open concept offices. This was inspired by Silicon Valley's push for collaboration and to differentiate itself from Corporate America.
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19. A Love of Energy Drinks
Coffee might be the most beloved drink in a tech company's kitchen, but energy drinks aren't that far behind. Coders run on caffeine and sugar, especially during crunch time.
20. Everyone Uses Apple Products
Walk into most tech companies, and you'll see a ton of glowing Apple logos. Tech workers are fairly loyal to MacBooks and iPhones because they are cool, reliable, and optimized for design and development work.
