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Ask HN: Pros and cons of working at a startup in 2018?

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Re: Ask HN: Pros and cons of working at a startup in 2018?

#101

Post by Illniyar »

drb91 wrote: post #81
toomuchtodo wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Entirely accurate. At a startup, I expect to make ~$100k/year, have mediocre insurance and work life balance, and underwhelming equity ( Unless you’re a founder, I actively steer colleagues away from working at a startup. The sense of accomplishment, impact, or whatever the feel good term is, isn’t worth shorting yourself on significant comp for years (while founders and funds are getting almost all the upside). Edit…

Just to state the obvious, there are things to optimize for other than compensation (like happiness); ~$100k/year provides a comfortable life and saving opportunity in many (most?) parts of the country.

yes, but startups aren't really very good at optimizing for other things. The stressful nature of startups are usually bad for happiness.

Startups are really good at providing two things - a sense of being able to affect change and working on something novel/new (assuming you actually go with a startup that does something new)

Re: Ask HN: Pros and cons of working at a startup in 2018?

#102

Post by driverdan »

drb91 wrote: post #81
toomuchtodo wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Entirely accurate. At a startup, I expect to make ~$100k/year, have mediocre insurance and work life balance, and underwhelming equity ( Unless you’re a founder, I actively steer colleagues away from working at a startup. The sense of accomplishment, impact, or whatever the feel good term is, isn’t worth shorting yourself on significant comp for years (while founders and funds are getting almost all the upside). Edit…

Just to state the obvious, there are things to optimize for other than compensation (like happiness); ~$100k/year provides a comfortable life and saving opportunity in many (most?) parts of the country.

Very few YC startups allow remote work and a large percentage are in expensive areas like the bay.

Re: Ask HN: Pros and cons of working at a startup in 2018?

#103

Post by snowmaker »

ronilan wrote: post #37

One of the “weak” points a startup has is the brand perception. Some-role at FANG sounds more impressive than same-role at a no-name startup. Even the startups themselves like to brag that they were started by alumni of brand name employers, rather than alumni of other startups. So, in what concrete way can you shift this? There is no easy solution, but you can try and follow the same route you did for startups. No-n…

That is a great idea! I agree the brand perception is a big issue for startups, and that is a clever and unique thing that YC could do to help.

Re: Ask HN: Pros and cons of working at a startup in 2018?

#104

Post by dmitrygr »

k5jhn wrote: post #68

Currently a dev at a pre-Series A startup. Pros: - both the freedom AND responsibility to build things that'll directly translate into increased growth/profits, or the opposite in the case of failure - close-knit dev team, and in general everyone is chill, i.e company culture is great so far Cons: - my salary compensation is pretty average so I am hoping for an eventual big pay-out, but it's hard to gauge what the pa…

  > I am hoping for an eventual big pay-out
Please, please, make sure you have a plan for when this does not happen, your company evaporates overnight (because leadership didn't tell you) and you find yourself out of a job.

Re: Ask HN: Pros and cons of working at a startup in 2018?

#105

Post by kenhwang »

sidlls wrote: post #73
ryandrake wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Take that view with a huge grain of salt. Nobody is denying that someone, somewhere is making $400k as a software engineer, but we are talking outlier employees at outlier companies. You’re not getting this as a medium level rank and file engineer, or at a non-FAANG company. This whole “software engineers make $400k” trope seems to have taken on a life of its own. Every time salary comes up here, these guys come out…

Fine, leave those FAANG "outliers" out. Startup comp is still wildly below market.

Some of my most mediocre acquaintances have jobs at FAANG/Big N. You don't have to be exceptional to land a high comp job there, you just have to be exceptionally tolerant to BS and mindnumbingly boring work and be willing to grind interview prep.

If anything, landing a job at an unicorn is much harder cause they care about things like culture fit, enthusiasm, esoteric FotM frameworks, and entrepreneurial spirit.

Re: Ask HN: Pros and cons of working at a startup in 2018?

#106

Post by driverdan »

john_moscow wrote: post #92
nieksand wrote: post #2

Just a few cons.... The big players have drastically pushed up developer comp. The "maybe" money that might come from a best-case startup exit isn't holding up well against the RSUs of the big players. I have friends pushing total comp north of 400K / year at the usual suspect companies. Over a five-year-span-till-liquidity your "maybe" money is competing against a near-guaranteed $2M in comp. Equity grants for early…

I think the open secret is that in 2018 most people who go work for startups are those who simply couldn't get a better offer from one of the big players.

Plenty of us don't want to work for them regardless of pay.

Re: Ask HN: Pros and cons of working at a startup in 2018?

#107

Post by scottmcleod »

Maximize for learning and personal growth. Startups provide the best place for this. If you have any dreams of being a founder your self, you need to spend time in trenches.

If you are a "career" man or woman, I still say spend 4-10 years at startups, then go grind with the usual suspects. By spending time at a startup you acquire a diverse/well rounded set of skills that make you an exceptional team member at big companies down the road. Forget an MBA at anything but a top tier university, do startup(s).

Re: Ask HN: Pros and cons of working at a startup in 2018?

#108

Post by pierre_d528 »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #89
drb91 wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just to state the obvious, there are things to optimize for other than compensation (like happiness); ~$100k/year provides a comfortable life and saving opportunity in many (most?) parts of the country.

Happiness doesn’t provide good health care to my wife and kids, or help me retire years earlier (I get to save >$100k/year because we live in a low cost of living area). I suggest a hobby if you want to be happy, as well as time with your family and loved ones. Be careful about those who offer you emotional fulfillment or purpose in your job. There’s always a cost.

So much truth in here... Specially for the "just funded" startups : they loose their souls fast when the investors start to get impatient. It's a trap in so many cases.

Re: Ask HN: Pros and cons of working at a startup in 2018?

#109

Post by CodeCube »

driverdan wrote: post #102
drb91 wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just to state the obvious, there are things to optimize for other than compensation (like happiness); ~$100k/year provides a comfortable life and saving opportunity in many (most?) parts of the country.

Very few YC startups allow remote work and a large percentage are in expensive areas like the bay.

This is such a massive point right here ... there is so much talent, either already in "far flung" parts of the country; or currently in a place like SF, but who long to move "back home" for any number of reasons.

Having startups be more remote-friendly by default would be a huge boon for everyone involved.

Re: Ask HN: Pros and cons of working at a startup in 2018?

#110

Post by mathattack »

Pros:

- More autonomy

- Less administrative overhead

- More executive interaction

- Higher percentage of superstar colleagues

- Work is more fun

- More breadth of opportunity and interaction

Cons that YC can help with:

- Less formal training

- Less formal mentoring

- When things go South, the cuts are worse and you have less notice

(The above can be mitigated by offering training and mentoring for the entire community, and proactive in-community job placement when companies fold)

Cons that YC can’t help with:

- Higher volatility in financial outcomes

- Less predictable schedule and work-life balance

- Less brand awareness for your parents to brag about

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