From Business Insider
I left Big Tech and felt more anxious than free. Finding an ‘anchor’ helped me create structure and achieve satisfaction.
By Judd Antin
Two years ago, after almost 15 years in tech, I left my job as head of design studio at Airbnb in search of something new. It didn’t go quite as I’d planned.
My tech career began in 2006 when I co-founded an ill-fated startup. After finishing a Ph.D. at UC Berkeley in 2010, I joined Yahoo and then moved to Meta, then known as Facebook, as a UX researcher in 2012.
I joined Meta at a time of immense growth and worked on projects like the shift to mobile, the first feed ads, and integrating news into Facebook.
After three years, in 2015, I moved to Airbnb as head of research. During my almost eight years there, I had a variety of executive roles in research, design, and product. I worked directly with the C-suite on top-level projects. I couldn’t have asked for more.
But burnout was in the rearview mirror, gaining on me. The guard was changing at Airbnb as a new generation of executives arrived. Many of us have had colleagues who've hung on at a company too long and become cynical despite their best intentions. I sensed it coming for me, and desperately didn’t want to be that guy. So I jumped ship in 2022...
Judd Antin graduated from the I School in 2006 with a MIMS degree and in 2010 with a Ph.D. in Information Science. He worked for Airbnb and Meta before becoming a lecturer for the I School.
