Is it better to work in revenue-generating divisions within your company?

Question

I imagine these orgs will be safer from layoffs right? I'm interested in AI/ML fairness, but I have some reservations about pivoting there as they won't directly produce revenue for Apple.

Alex Chiou · Accepted Answer

Short answer:** No. Longer answer:** Possibly, but it's not worth heavily warping your mentality around your goals and preferences to fit yourself into these organizations. The layoff thing may be true, but there's the other axis of performance, especially among more senior people who should be more flexible with team switching. A lot of founders are also very forward thinking and will prioritize non-revenue orgs/products as they're confident it will raise revenue very later on down the road. Several of the most successful founders (Bezos, Zuckerberg) are like this. At the end of the day, all the micro-optimization of joining an org safer from layoffs is cancelled out if you are joining a space you aren't too passionate about. The main thing to optimize for is finding a team and work you enjoy! If you've been on your current team for a while and want to switch into something you feel like you would have more passion for, I recommend pursuing it if possible. AI/ML fairness is an extremely noble and important space IMHO, and it will be 5x more important in 10 years. Seems like a good thing to go after to me!

Is it better to work in revenue-generating divisions within your company?

Discussion