Work until 2 AM? NVIDIA employees “work like hell” but can’t leave because the AI chipmaker uses “golden handcuffs” and lavish pay to keep them on the grind
While NVIDIA’s work environment can be compared to a pressure cooker, employees work around the clock because of the attractive compensation packages.
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What you need to know
What defines a company’s success? While this is a broad topic, most executives would list the employees' performance index and morale as key determinants. Hard work also plays a crucial role.
Amid concerns thatAI is rapidly claiming jobs from professionals, Microsoft’s latest Work Trend Index report indicatesemployers won’t recruit anyone without an AI aptitude. Contrary to popular belief, AI is creating more job opportunities, but company executives are concerned that there isn’t enough talent for the vacancies in their organizations.
According to former Google CEO Eric Schmidt,the company is losing to Microsoft, OpenAI, and NVIDIA in the AI race due to its work-from-home policy. “Google decided that work-life balance and going home early and working from home was more important than winning,” stated Schmidt. “And the reason the startups work is because the people work like hell.”
Despite Microsoft and OpenAI’s vast resources and talent, the CEO saysNVIDIA will win the AI race due to the high demand for AI chips. NVIDIA isthe most profitable chip brand in the worldand wasbriefly the world’s most valuable company, ahead of Apple and Microsoft.
How did it get to achieve these feats?
NVIDIA employees “work like hell”
According to a report by theNew York Post, NVIDIA employees go to work every day of the week and leave the office at around 2 a.m. However, their hard work doesn’t go unnoticed. Several sources with knowledge of the arrangement indicate that employees receive generous pay packages.
While speaking toBloomberg, a former marketing employee at NVIDIA disclosed that she’d attend up to 10 daily meetings, each featuring up to 30 participants. The meetings would often turn into shouting matches due to differences in opinion and strategy. NVIDIA employees describe the working environment at the company as “a pressure cooker.”
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Despite the immense pressure in NVIDIA’s work environment, most employees retained their jobs because of the “golden handcuffs,” as a former employee described them. The golden handcuffs are a metaphor for NVIDIA’s employee stock compensation package.
According to NVIDIA, the rate of employee turnover is 17.7%. A former engineer at NVIDIA indicates that employees who’ve been working at the company for more than a decade have enough money set aside for retirement but opt to continue working for better incentives.
The engineer further indicated that NVIDIA’s parking lot is filled with high-end vehicles, including Porsches, Corvettes, and Lamborghinis, and the occasional bragging of new vacation homes.
Elsewhere, NVIDIA isn’t the only company breaking the bank to further its AI advances. In aleaked spreadsheetfeaturing the salaries of Microsoft employees, an AI software engineer gets paid up to $120,000 more per year than someone working in Azure.
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Kevin Okemwa is a seasoned tech journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya with lots of experience covering the latest trends and developments in the industry at Windows Central. With a passion for innovation and a keen eye for detail, he has written for leading publications such as OnMSFT, MakeUseOf, and Windows Report, providing insightful analysis and breaking news on everything revolving around the Microsoft ecosystem. You’ll also catch him occasionally contributing at iMore about Apple and AI. While AFK and not busy following the ever-emerging trends in tech, you can find him exploring the world or listening to music.
