Steve Ballmer's son reflects on growing up in high net worth family

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Pete Ballmer Headshot

Pete Ballmer, Abanti Chowdhury/BI

This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with 29-year-old Pete Ballmer, a standup comedian living in San Francisco and one of the sons of billionaire and former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I quit my dream teaching job to become a virtual assistant. My income dropped 25%, but my flexible schedule is worth it.

Tech Insider
On the left: Brittany Davila wears festive holiday-themed clothing in front of a classroom decorated with candy canes. On the right: Davila wears a suit and smiles.
Brittany Davila quit her job as a teacher and became a virtual assistant.

Brittany Davila

I'm a former tech manager who has put employees on PIPs. Almost no one survives them — someone in the company wants you gone.

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An image of a woman in the foreground and an image of someone carrying a box of work supplies in the background.

iStock; Rebecca Zisser/BI

I worked at Google for 7 years and watched the culture die. The company is doomed to repeat unnecessary embarrassment if they don't fix it.

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A group of Google staff stand outside of the company's UK headquarters
Google's culture of openness has collapsed, writes a former employee.

Tolga Akmen/AFP via Getty Images

I left California for Las Vegas. Even after a $39,000 pay cut, my house is bigger, my 401(k) contributions went up, and the quality of my life improved.

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A collage of a headshot of Alli Peck, a woman with short brown hair, and a photograph of Peck with her husband in front of Las Vegas Ballpark.
Alli Peck moved to Las Vegas and took a pay cut of $39,000.

Alli Peck

3 pieces of information you should never share in a job interview and what to say instead, from a recruiting manager.

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Concept image of a man being flattened by a red large speech bubble
Bonnie Dilber warns of three topics you should avoid discussing in a job interview.

Fanatic Studio/Gary Waters/Getty Images

I'm an employment lawyer. Here are the first 3 questions to ask HR if you're laid off or fired.

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Fired businesswoman standing outdoors on the stairs of office building 881832046

RUNSTUDIO

5 tips that make top candidates stand out from other applicants in a tough job market, according to a recruiter

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Aerial view of a group of a large people with the light shining illustration

Fanatic Studio / Gary Waters

Here's why I banned office relationships between coworkers as a CEO

Tech Insider
office romance, office relationships, coworkers, business romance

wenjin chen

Inside Twitter's first-ever company retreat: Jack Dorsey's parents posed for selfies, Elon Musk was a no-show, and employees meditated with the billionaire founder

Tech Insider
A Twitter logo disco ball in a party scene
Billionaire introvert Jack Dorsey hosted a 3-day Twitter retreat, known as #OneTeam, for 3,500 employees in the summer of 2018.

Nosyrevy/iStock, Nastyaaroma/iStock, Tyler Le/BI

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