Why six Google employees left one of tech’s most coveted employers

For years, Google has been considered perhaps the best job in the tech industry. The company built a reputation for generous benefits, pay, and the opportunity to work on products used by billions of people.

While AI remains a dream employer for many, the AI ​​boom is creating new opportunities beyond Big Tech. And it’s not just superstar AI researchers leaving. Some rank-and-file Google employees have decided that their best path lies outside of Google, whether it’s to take a job with another employer, launch a startup, or pursue a completely different career.

Business Insider interviewed six recent Google employees about their reasons for leaving the company. Here’s what they told us: Some answers have been edited for length and clarity.

I felt FOMO at Google during the AI ​​boom.

Yusuf Imran worked as an account executive at Google for about six years before leaving in April to start an AI startup. He is 41 years old and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Even though I was making nearly $1 million last year as an account executive at Google, I was feeling a bit of FOMO around the AI ​​boom.

I think most people at Google would honestly say the same thing.

Google’s compensation is very high, but OpenAI and Anthropic’s equity packages are out of this world. A three- or four-year stock grant in one of these companies can be life-changing money.

This calculation was part of my own calculation when deciding to start my own business focused on AI sales tools. If stock is the only way to truly benefit in this moment of AI, then at some point you will ask yourself whether that stock should be in your company.

Uncertainty about job security was also a factor in my decision. What struck me about the recent layoffs at Google was that they were attacking really talented people. It wasn’t about performance. It was about integration. AI will allow companies to restructure teams and flatten the layers, and when that becomes a driver, tenure and talent won’t protect you like they used to.

The scarier choice was to stay at Google.

Ashna Doshi worked as a software engineer at Google until May, when she left to launch an AI startup. She is 23 years old and lives in New York City.

In May, I left Google to devote all my time to building an AI startup.

Overall, I really enjoyed my experience at Google. I learned every day and met many smart people from different backgrounds.

But at big tech companies, people are part of a much larger machine, and I craved the ability to make decisions, move quickly, and see the results of my work firsthand.

On top of that, the AI ​​tools available to builders today are unlike anything before. I had strong beliefs about certain ideas and didn’t want to look back and wish I had taken the shot at a better time.

Leaving Google was a financial risk, but I’ve always believed that if you’re really drawn to something, you need to leave behind something good to pursue something great. Financial security is comforting, but it can also be a trap.

An even scarier version of this decision was not to leave Google. It stayed and I always wondered what could have been.

Big tech companies no longer seem like a safe choice

Taylor M. LaSane worked at Google for more than a decade before leaving her role as transformation manager last October to focus full-time on her career coaching business. She is in her early 30s and lives in Atlanta.

“Layoffs at big tech companies are happening everywhere, so staying there wasn’t necessarily more stable than leaving.”

Read the full text here.

Google showed us how advanced its AI is

Candace Bryant worked as an internal communications manager at Google until last October, when she left to focus on independent consulting and building AI-related products.

I worked with Google’s search team at the beginning of the generative AI boom, after the launch of ChatGPT and before Gemini was released.

When I first saw Google’s AI tools available online, I was fascinated by the technology. I remember seeing things like NotebookLM’s ability to turn notes into podcasts and thinking, “This is going to change everything.”

But even as I recognized the potential of these tools, I realized that very few people around me were still using AI.

I realized that powerful technology that no one understands or uses won’t change anything. I have come to believe that the real gap is not between Silicon Valley and policymakers, but between Silicon Valley and everyone else. Increasingly, I felt like we could have a bigger impact by helping people understand AI from outside of Google, rather than from within.

That’s why I ultimately decided to leave Google and pursue that mission independently.

I felt invisible on Google

Jocelyn Orgill worked as a data engineer at Google until August 2025, when she left to pursue a Ph.D. in the field of computer science. She is in her early 30s and lives in Illinois.

“I wanted a career and a life that I was more passionate about than what I could achieve at a large company like Google.”

Read the full text here.

I left Google to run for Congress.

Bushra Amiwala worked at Google for about five years before quitting her job as an account manager to run for Congress last year. Amiwala, who finished sixth in the Illinois Democratic primary, is in his late 20s and lives in the Chicago area.

“Do I run for this seat and quit my job, or do I stay at Google and never try?”

Read the full text here.

Do you have a story to share about working in the tech industry? Email reporter Jacob Zinkula. jzikula@businessinsider.comor via Signal at jzikula.29.