People are hired for a reason but often find their skills underutilized and their ability to make an impact constrained. It’s hard to be happy when that’s the case.
A recent International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health study found that income level, gender and age did not predict happiness or satisfaction at work. What did prove to be a driving force in determining happiness boiled down to life purpose.
Participants who said their jobs furthered their life purpose — and who felt their work was useful and valuable — reported higher levels of happiness with their work-life. Additionally, those who felt appreciated by coworkers were more likely to be happy at work.
In LA’s tech industry, the average salary is just over $100,000, according to CompTIA. But studies like this show that high wages aren’t the only determining factor in happiness; the ability to make an impact and garner a sense of purpose is crucial.
As Skyryse and VideoAmp grow their teams, their current team members explained how they were given opportunities to make an immediate impact and shared their biggest success stories since starting.
Skyryse aims to bring general aviation fatalities to zero by automating flight controls and management, removing the potential for human error.
Think back to first joining the team. What drew you to Skyryse? How have your expectations been met since coming aboard?
I was drawn to Skyryse to contribute and be a direct part of a revolution in aviation and transportation. Most jobs in aviation and aerospace around Los Angeles are big projects where I would be a small part of a huge company or international team. When I looked into Skyryse, it was apparent that I would directly contribute and even lead projects, ultimately changing how we move around for generations to come.
Since joining, we have been able to go from conceptual design to flight test within a week. The speed of our development lifecycle is so exciting and something I had rarely experienced prior. I truly have participated both directly and indirectly in multiple flight tests every single month, moving our product closer to our final FAA-approved product.
What’s been your biggest success story since joining the team?
The dynamic at Skyryse has resulted in multiple achievements every quarter, but the biggest success story so far was working with the team to re-factor — and partially re-design — a key part of our technology, taking it from R&D to production-ready over six weeks. In the next year, we will make general aviation easier, safer and more accessible than ever before. It was a tremendous coordination effort paying dividends every day.
The biggest success so far was working with the team to re-factor — and partially re-design — a key part of our technology, taking it from R&D to production-ready over six weeks.”
Your company is currently hiring for a handful of roles. How can new hires make an immediate impact at the company?
Be a problem solver and a team player. Every team member supports multiple efforts, and it takes teamwork to constantly solve exciting new challenges within the myriad of small tasks that aggregate to major achievements. Taking the initiative to help teammates identify and complete projects that will help us get to our final product and democratize flight for all.
AdTech company VideoAmp’s mission is to build software and data solutions that empower advertisers to optimize their portfolios while helping publishers monetize and align their audiences.
Think back to first joining the team. What drew you to VideoAmp? How have your expectations been met since coming aboard?
I wasn’t really looking to join a startup again but decided to interview at VideoAmp because I was looking for a place where I could have a tremendous and rapid positive impact. I discovered that this is something that VideoAmp’s strong growth trajectory clearly could offer. I found the opportunity to deliver significantly within my very first month at the company. I have been busy delivering exceptional results constantly since then through technical and team leadership, as well as my code contributions. We’re all moving very fast to provide incredible value, so there’s no time for politics or bureaucracy. As a software engineer and manager, VideoAmp is exactly what I was looking for, and it lived up to every bit of the pre-hire hype.
During the interviews, I was also very impressed by what appeared to be a wellness-first culture and an emphasis on employee success and satisfaction. And I was not disappointed — in my first week on the job VideoAmp shipped me a heart-rate monitor so I could participate in that month’s wellness-fitness challenge. I’ve also taken advantage of our generous unlimited PTO policy in the past two years, with multiple yearly trips to Asia, Hawaii, Mexico and the Caribbean. As a result of the intentional focus on wellness, I’m feeling and looking great, as though I’ve reversed the aging process and gotten ten years younger by being here.
What’s been your biggest success story since joining the team?
In my first month at VideoAmp, I was handed a project that enabled a few million in new revenue, which felt great after spending years at my former big-tech company with little opportunity for impact. But this was soon eclipsed, as I was given a new opportunity to lead a very challenging effort that ultimately allowed us to deliver our very first Currency pilots, potentially unlocking billions in new revenue over the coming years. This win was only possible because I had the full support of my manager and VP and was surrounded by a large and very talented engineering team who were accustomed to working leanly and rapidly.
I was given the opportunity to lead a challenging effort that ultimately allowed us to deliver our first Currency pilots, potentially unlocking billions in new revenue over the coming years.”
Your company is currently hiring for a handful of roles. How can new hires make an immediate impact at the company?
Every role at VideoAmp has the potential to make an immediate and massive positive impact, and every engineer is empowered — and expected — to consistently deliver great results. New engineering hires have the unique advantage of bringing a fresh viewpoint, which helps us grow and evolve as an organization. Any engineering contributions that help us produce complete, accurate or reliable data more cheaply and quickly will all provide a high degree of impact for the company.
