[DarkTree]

> I've worked at a couple very high-profile companies in the Valley and have never felt this prestige primarily because I don't hang out with complete douchebags.

> If people get all starry-eyed when you announce the company you work for; run in the opposite direction.

Get over yourself and out of your bubble. American culture constantly pushes the value of prestige and the way of obtaining that being going to good schools and working at popular companies. If you are a person who didn't go to an ivy league or work at Facebook, it's easy to believe that the person who did is better than you in some way. It is more rare to attain that status, so therefor many people both in and outside of the industry look starry-eyed at them.

I don't work at one of the big tech firms and nor do I want to, but I know for a fact most people in my family would think highly of me if I told them I worked at Google, because it is prestigious whether you like it or not. Does that make them douchebags?

[debt]

It’s one thing for friends or family to think where you working at is cool and another thing for random people to be inflating your ego. Or you may start to think you’re better than other people because of where you work.

I’ve seen this phenomenon in San Francisco quite a bit. That is where the person and their entire social circles become cliques that serve simply to reinforce their ego.

It’s sad and weird to observe first hand.

[ryandrake]

I think many people ask that “So... where do you work?” or “What do you do for a living?” question as a polite way to figure out where to stack you on their social status totem pole. At least in the Bay Area and likely other places, you kind of have to go out of your way to find people who dont do this. Usually I just say I’m an exotic dancer, which often gets a chuckle, breaks the ice and subtly sends the message that I’m not interested in being silently judged based on where I work.