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Here's my personal experience: In 2012 I graduated from college and was deciding pretty much exactly this. I interviewed at Google and got an offer, and had to decide between that and the startup life. I ended up going with Google. My immediate thought process centered around money because I had substantial debts from university, so while I wouldn't have admitted it at the time, startups were kind of out of the quest…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Google is also a very good learning opportunity; there is lots of training available to employees, you will be working with very talented people, and will get to see how the planet-scale dogfood is made first hand.
> you will be working with very talented people Do you think they are more talented than other companies, like, say, Amazon?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've heard that many things are arcane in-house proprietary stuff, not easily transferable knowledge/experience.
Put another way, you'll learn much more about how to identify and work with talented people on difficult projects at Google than at a startup. At a startup you're worried about how you'll pack a bologna sandwich for lunch tomorrow, at Google you're a sous chef for a 5 star banquet hall in NYC.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Google is also a very good learning opportunity; there is lots of training available to employees, you will be working with very talented people, and will get to see how the planet-scale dogfood is made first hand.
I've heard that many things are arcane in-house proprietary stuff, not easily transferable knowledge/experience.
Just like any other successful company that does something interesting and has been around more than a couple of years.
Additionally the startup would have to be run by people whose abilities to run the business in all of its aspects I trust 100%.
If the pay is 1/3, financially the only logical option is Google.
I'd take offer with more cash in the pockets vs. promise of bright future for current sacrifice.
%% of startup shares is what they want you to believe in. What you haven't been told is that your shares can and will be diluted via new investors coming in who will buy more "preferred" shares without telling you. Preferred shares will allow new investors to get paid X times of their original investment before you see any penny at a potential exit (in case it will ever happen).
In startup world it evolves in a frequent and predictable disappointing outcomes for "unaware" engineers and holders of regular, non-preferred "options".
Take cash, save it and invest it in your own, future startup.
1. 6% of zero is zero. 2. 4 years is a lot of time to spend at a company for a high probability of making 6% of zero. 3. If you're an employee at a startup, you're in the wrong job. You're much better off being a founder. 4. Equity is a way to be paid less and to be fired in the first year if you haven't vested anything. 5. Who are you going to sell your equity shares to? It's not necessarily a free market in the sta…
Or VC investor with preferred shares that will guarantee you get paid first N-times your original investment (before unaware engineers will see a penny).
Here's my personal experience: In 2012 I graduated from college and was deciding pretty much exactly this. I interviewed at Google and got an offer, and had to decide between that and the startup life. I ended up going with Google. My immediate thought process centered around money because I had substantial debts from university, so while I wouldn't have admitted it at the time, startups were kind of out of the quest…
Do you think other large tech companies are like this? If so, which ones?