Google is considered a good place to work, whether in person or remotely. After the pandemic, many positions became hybrid, which required some time in the office for employees. A variety of jobs are available for hybrid and remote workers at all levels.
Many people are intrigued by the idea of working for Google. Job seekers may be fascinated by the beautiful and luxurious work environment offered in their California-based office. But what about those looking to work remotely? Are remote Google jobs available?
Does the corporate giant afford prospective employees that perk or working from home? Can you work from home and work for Google? Or are most of their employment opportunities on-site?
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What Qualifications Do You Need To Work At Google?
There are many different types of jobs at Google with varying levels of required education, experience, and skill sets. Some positions require a bachelor’s degree or even higher education, while for other job openings, a high school diploma is sufficient.
There are positions that are entry-level as well as those requiring very specific experience.
- Entry-Level Jobs: Some jobs (usually not computer-related) require no degree, but education and experience help given the stiff competition to be hired by Google.
- Experience-Based Positions: There are positions for people who may not have formal education but have experience and technical training in the field. For example, experience in software development, programming, etc., can find you employed with Google if your skillset matches their needs. Many of their positions are posted asking for a minimum of 2 years of experience for these types of job postings.
- Bachelor’s Degree: Having a degree in programming or other related fields can help one to gain employment as a software engineer, project manager, or program manager.
What is The Difference between Working At Google, Working For Google, And Working With Google?
Google is headquartered in Mountain View, California, near San Francisco. The sprawling and innovative campus centers around the main building affectionately called the Googleplex. At the front of the main building is a giant T-Rex statue meant to remind staff not to be dinosaurs in their thinking.
The campus is as amazing as it sounds, with an on-site doctor, fitness center, wellness classes, and other perks. Office space does not look typical, and employees can choose to work in an outdoor space if they prefer. If you work at this beautiful facility, you work at Google.
There are many employees who work remotely for Google. In other words, you can absolutely work for Google and never step foot in California. As long as you have internet access and some computer skills, you could work from home for Google.
Lastly, people can work with Google to make money. These people are basically independently employed, but they make money using Google. For example, a blogger or YouTuber can make money using AdSense. AdSense is a Google product that allows people to write online content and earn money with that online content. It takes a lot of time and energy to generate income of any significance.
Some gig workers at Fiverr or Upwork parlay their knowledge of AdSense and Google platforms to do freelance jobs.
There are job opportunities as Google Search Engine Evaluators. Companies like Appen employ people to follow search engine prompts and evaluate where it takes them, compiling reports along the way.
Can I Work For Google Part-Time?
Google hires full-time, part-time, and freelance employees. Most of their employees are full-time and allowed to work in a hybrid model.
What Type Of Remote Google Jobs Are Available?
Joba at Google are diverse and well-paying. According to Payscale, the average salary is $124,007 a year with an average range of $72,412 to $178,472 a year. Data Center Technicians earn the least with an average annual salary of $58,868, while Senior Software Engineers make the most at $178,472.
- Account Management: The account manager develops relationships with the people behind accounts with Google to ensure they are satisfied with the product they are using.
- Full Stack Software Engineers understand both back and front-end software development. Back-end engineering involves knowledge of behind-the-scenes software likr Java, Python, GO, and/or C++ codebases that make the website functions work. Front-end experience includes knowledge of JavaScript, TypeScript, HTML, CSS or equivalent.
- Customer Success: The job description for this person is basically customer support as you guide Google Cloud customers.
- Data Analyst: Constantly striving to be on top, data analysts will be continually digging into trends important to the organization.
- Data Entry: This is an example of an essential entry-level job with Google.
- Design: Those in Google design positions constantly work to reconfigure and display their pages in the best way possible.
- Product Manager: Someone needs to be coming up with new product prototypes and ideas, then lead the team in bringing those ideas to fruition. This is the job of a product manager.
- Sales Representatives: Google sales has Googlers growing businesses, advertising products, collaborating with clients, etc.
- Social Media and Events Coordinator: Coordinators plan, produce, and execute live events and promote them on social media.
- Technical Writers: Google is always hiring writers to document its products. Some jobs are relatively entry-level jobs, but many writers come from diverse science, math, engineering, legal, and other diverse backgrounds. They wrote highly technical material that puts some salaries over $100,000.
Software Engineers manage the Google Cloud Platforms. Google’s positions for engineers are noted with a letter and a number that represent the seniority of the role.
- L2 – Software Engineering Interns are typically in their final year of a four-year degree program.
- L3 – Full-time, entry-level Software Engineers are most often graduate students.
- L4 – These professionals have between 1-5 years of experience in the industry. They might be recent master’s program graduates or those working on their Ph.D.
- L5– Senior Software Engineer: Those with 6-9 years of industry experience are at this level. This is where most engineers at Google are placed. Employees at L5 are expected to be self-directed and self-motivated.
- L6 – Staff Software Engineer: Engineers with 9 or more years of experience can reach Level 6. These team members hope to move up to L7, but that is rare.
- L7– Senior Staff Software Engineer: 9+ years of experience. There are not many L7s at Google.
- L8 and above – are executive roles.
What Type Of Hybrid Positions Are Available?
Google has over 186,000 full-time employees as of September 2022, and after the pandemic, Google made an important adjustment and offered hybrid work. Although many employees might have preferred to stay entirely remote, Google stood strong on its assertion that the vast majority of staff would come into the office a few days each week.
In April 2022, Google acted on a policy announced by Google/Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai in Google’s corporate blog on mid-2021 that would create” “Taken together these changes will result in “a workforce where around 60 percent of Googlers are coming together in the office a few days a week, another 20 percent are working in new office locations, and 20 percent are working from home.”
With much of the world offering remote work, why did Google dig its heels in on this? First, Google prides itself on having built a desirable workspace for employees. Without staff coming into the office, that ceases to be a draw. Also, as a company that pushes collaboration and a team approach, they wanted to continue bringing staff together in the same physical space.
The vast majority of Google’s employees have the flexibility to work in the office three days each week and off-site the other two. So, almost all of their positions offer a hybrid option, no matter what the job title.
Downsides Of Google Jobs
Over 2,000,00 happy to work at Google each year, but there are downsides to working there.
- The interview process is intense, sometimes lasting six weeks of multiple meetings and project work that may result in no job offer. May successful hires go through the process multiple times.
Working at Google is stressful and competitive as employees are expected to operate at top capacity at all times. The work/life balance possible when working there is less than at other tech giants like Oracle.
Tech jobs at Google and other tech companies are subject to mass layoffs in the post-pandemic world. Over 12,000 employees were abruptly fired by text and email in January 2023 when the company cut its 186,000-person workforce by 6%.
Google employees are stereotyped and subject to discrimination in future jobs searches. Many companies feel they can’t measure up to Google and fear that former Google employees will be easily dissatisfied in a new workplace.
How Do You Apply For A Job At Google?
The competition at Google is fierce. One way to increase your chances of becoming a Noogler (new Google employee) is to work with a Google recruiter. Since they get so many applicants each week, making yourself stand out is important. Do not make the mistake of submitting a bland resume to Google. They are looking for people who are innovative and willing to take risks.
Instead of a typical cover letter, Google expects to see a motivational letter. This is where you explain why you are so intent on working for them. When applying for a remote position, be certain to tailor your resume and credentials to specifically show how remote working improves your productivity, as well as any experience you have in this capacity.
Things they look for:
- Creativity
- Collaboration
- Passion
- Teamwork
Once you get yourself on their radar, prepare for a virtual interview. Remember that you are trying to sell yourself as someone who can work remotely, so be certain that you can come across well when interviewing remotely. Not everyone is skilled in this. Everything from the angle of your camera to ensuring you can hear (and be heard) is important.
