A Bengaluru-based software engineer’s honest post about leaving Google has struck a chord online. His revelations sparked a conversation about corporate rules, side hustles and creative freedom. The man
named Arpit Bhayani, who worked at Google in two separate stints, revealed that his last day at the tech giant came sooner than expected.
Taking to X, the engineer wrote, “It is not bittersweet, but a purely bitter moment. I had no plans of leaving, but I had no choice left.” The reason behind his departure was a conflict involving his work outside Google. He creates educational content through online courses and YouTube, something he had been doing openly alongside his corporate role.
Yesterday was my last day at Google. It is not bittersweet, but a purely bitter moment. I had no plans of leaving, but I had no choice left.
I had to leave because of a conflict with my outside work (courses and YouTube), and once legal gets involved, there is not much you can… pic.twitter.com/6jbsyAfF55
— Arpit Bhayani (@arpit_bhayani) January 10, 2026
As the man explained, “I had to leave because of a conflict with my outside work (courses and YouTube), and once legal gets involved, there is not much you can do.”
What hurt him the most was not just leaving the company but walking away from work he deeply cared about. “I am bummed about leaving a domain that I dearly love—in-memory databases,” the man wrote. He added that he was equally upset about leaving behind his team. In his words, “I am bummed because I was working with some exceptionally good engineers and genuinely good people. I am bummed because there was so much good stuff left to build.”
Despite the abrupt exit, the man expressed gratitude towards Google. He said both his stints at the company were fulfilling and helped him grow professionally. His post on X further read, “I will forever be grateful to Google for giving me two stints. Both were extremely fulfilling and something that made me a better engineer and operator.” Signing off, he also praised his team working on Memorystore, calling them fiercely loyal. “This team would take a bullet for each other,” he wrote.
Fellow Techies Express Disappointment
The Bengaluru-based man’s post sparked an outpouring of reactions from fellow engineers and tech professionals. Many questioned how educational content could be seen as a conflict of interest. One user commented, “That’s sad! Someone got jealous otherwise, I don’t see any conflict of interest between your official responsibilities and YouTube/courses. It’s Google’s loss.”
Similar Sentiments In Comments Section
Another user highlighted the impact of Bhayani’s work, saying, “You create educational videos that help even Google engineers… This was a win-win situation.” Others echoed similar sentiments, wondering why the issue surfaced after years of honesty. “This sucks! All the best for whatever is lined up next. I wonder how there’s suddenly a conflict when you’ve been openly doing both corporate and YT for years,” said an individual.
A person even wondered why Google would be concerned about what employees do during their free time.
