Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: Should I choose big name or big salary?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 23 posts

Re: Ask HN: Should I choose big name or big salary?

#11

Post by davismwfl »

swcoders wrote: post #6
davismwfl wrote: post #3

Depends on what you want to be building. At a big 5 firm you will likely be traveling fairly regularly if not weekly and you will be worked hard. You will also learn a ton and see so many varied things you will be come away even more valuable. Me personally, I'd pick Sears. Doesn't sound sexy but I know a little about them and they generally are pretty good to work for and at least you will be building out products n…

Thanks for advice. It might depend on their requirement and urgency of project and skills so they are offering me more. I do not want to loose that huge money and also wanted to join Deloitte (I am also not sure I am right fit as I am very technical and introvert person). I am really confused right now.

I get being confused.

Deloitte like any consulting work can grind on you after awhile but honestly it can be a lot of fun, especially if you are younger and don't have pets, family you want to see etc. I did consulting for years, large and my own.

Sears believe it or not is not a dying company and has significant technical resources for differing product lines. People don't realize they power a lot of repair business tool chains, Design software etc. not that it is a panacea but don't let the fact it is an old company stop you, they are doing some neat stuff. I consulted for them a number of years back and I was totally dumbfounded at all the stuff they are into and creating. Of course it is a larger company so it comes with some headaches like all big companies, Deloitte too.

Also, don't let being an introvert stop you from Deloitte as that may be a good thing as they will help you communicate and you'll learn to be more extroverted. At the same time, don't buy into the hype that having Deloitte on your resume will help you, it won't make a huge difference. If you plan on making a career in enterprise software or consulting it will weigh more but even then I have seen quite a few enterprises basically ignore all resumes from anyone with big 5 experience. Not saying that is super common but just pointing out having that name on your resume doesn't always mean good.

Re: Ask HN: Should I choose big name or big salary?

#12

Post by davismwfl »

swcoders wrote: post #9
PaulHoule wrote: post #5

Sears will end in tears for you. It has been a failing company for at least 30 years, it is the definition of "lights on and nobody home" To take an example of how they think, when I was a student they had a booth at my college where they were soliciting people to get Sears charge cards. I applied for one, and then they replied saying they would not give me a card because I lived in student housing. Years later I wen…

Thanks, I think IT branch is not responsible for that kind of issues. They are moving more to ecommerce areas so I think retail does not affect much.

Sears is not dying or dead. They have around 40 some brands they own and they are doing quite well. Yes they aggressively close non performing stores and they aren't in every mall like they used to be. But they are very much into ecommerce, supply chain management, repair business etc. and the technology groups they have do some neat shit, again not a panacea but pretty cool.

Also remember they are in the top 20 of all retailers in the US so if you can say you worked on ecommerce for a top 20 retailer and made real impacts, sorry that to me will be better then Deloitte. I'd hire a person with that experience over the consulting person, especially for a online business.

Re: Ask HN: Should I choose big name or big salary?

#13

Post by herbst »

swcoders wrote: post #4
herbst wrote: post #2

Personally i dont care about both. As dev i earn enough whatever i do and big names are just that, big names. I would go for the one you felt the most comfortable with in terms of environment and coworkers.

Thanks for advice. I do not know more about their culture. What would you suggest for me?

Honestly i would not consider ether before knowing this. I always ask other coders why i should _not_ start there, this usually leads to interesting (and often honest) insights.

Re: Ask HN: Should I choose big name or big salary?

#14

Post by swcoders »

davismwfl wrote: post #12
swcoders wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks, I think IT branch is not responsible for that kind of issues. They are moving more to ecommerce areas so I think retail does not affect much.

Sears is not dying or dead. They have around 40 some brands they own and they are doing quite well. Yes they aggressively close non performing stores and they aren't in every mall like they used to be. But they are very much into ecommerce, supply chain management, repair business etc. and the technology groups they have do some neat shit, again not a panacea but pretty cool. Also remember they are in the top 20 of a…

Great!! and really thanks for your advice. They selected me for working on their e-commerce project and they are trying to move more on e-commerce (As I have discussed with project managers). I was very confused. Once again Thanks for your valuable advice.

Re: Ask HN: Should I choose big name or big salary?

#16

Post by PaulHoule »

swcoders wrote: post #14
davismwfl wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sears is not dying or dead. They have around 40 some brands they own and they are doing quite well. Yes they aggressively close non performing stores and they aren't in every mall like they used to be. But they are very much into ecommerce, supply chain management, repair business etc. and the technology groups they have do some neat shit, again not a panacea but pretty cool. Also remember they are in the top 20 of a…

Great!! and really thanks for your advice. They selected me for working on their e-commerce project and they are trying to move more on e-commerce (As I have discussed with project managers). I was very confused. Once again Thanks for your valuable advice.

It's your funeral.

Re: Ask HN: Should I choose big name or big salary?

#17

Post by nicholas73 »

Take the money. 50% is too big to ignore, unless you are talking about 50% of a low number. But then again, why would you choose a company offering you peanuts?

It doesn't matter what you think of the project - your salary history follows you to better opportunities later on.

Also, we want to think we are smarter than the companies making the offers, but chances are high that the salary offer is correct. That is, you will be doing more valuable work (for both you and them) at Sears than at Deloitte.

Re: Ask HN: Should I choose big name or big salary?

#18

Post by petervandijck »

Take the money.

Calculate like this: job1 pays 100, and imagine you get a 10% raise yearly for the rest of your career. Calculate your total income over your career. Job2 pays 15, calculate same. How much difference is it?

In other words: a significant salary increase early in your career tends to pay dividends beyond just the current year.

Re: Ask HN: Should I choose big name or big salary?

#20

Post by rubyfan »

swcoders wrote: post #10
rubyfan wrote: post #8

Think about which one will open more possibilities for you in the future when you are ready to move on. not sure where you are in your career but I'd suspect for most being a Deloitte alumn would have more potential upside. Also, let Deloitte know you really want to work there but have an offer that is 50% more and give them the opportunity to improve their offer.

Thanks for your advice. I have 5 years of experience and money is real problem here. I can not make that much money in Deloitte if I remain their for two or more years. It's huge sum of money for me and Deloitte offer is not even competent but learning opportunities will be more and also my profile will be good if I join their. What you suggest?

If you're 5 years in, then you will benefit from the experience and reputation you will get at a big consultancy. The extra bit of pay Sears will give you is short lived.

Again if you're 5 years into a career think about a longer term investment in your future. Unless you have mouths to feed now or are dealing with loan sharks take the one that will benefit the most from over the long term. I'd guess that's Deloitte but not sure what your role is and where you want to take your career.

Post reply on HN