I think it <i>can</i> be bad if you&#x27;re not a specific type of person. I loved interning at Palantir and <i>absolutely hated</i> interning at Facebook.<p>There are people who legitimately enjoy super high intensity environments. There are people who legitimately loathe low intensity environments. If you&#x27;re not one of those people, you&#x27;re not going to have a good time at Palantir — this is not a secret. This is stated over and over by everyone. Shyam (head of BD) has a public blog post shaming the very <i>notion</i> of work-life balance. No one is tricking anyone, except candidates fooling themselves into believing everyone is lying and it&#x27;s actually a chill place.<p>Ultimately, the sweatshop analogy is pathetic on this basis alone: you have a choice to work there or not. Working conditions aren&#x27;t really the problem with abusive employment. There are people who take on far more life-threatening and limb-damaging jobs than a sweatshop.<p>The key distinction from those people and those who are abused is that they are free to leave and thus free to demand proper compensation.<p>No Silicon Valley company is a sweatshop. What a delusionally entitled way to see the world.