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Ask HN: How do I choose between a job offer from Google and a promising startup?

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Re: Ask HN: How do I choose between a job offer from Google and a promising startup?

#121

Post by modeless »

zerr wrote: post #31
jhillyerd wrote: post #20

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.

Google's CI system is proprietary, but learning how a CI system should work is valuable. Google's code review system is proprietary, but learning how code review should work is valuable. Repeat for every proprietary system Google has.

When I left Google for a startup, all the tools I took for granted didn't exist. But because I knew how things could and should work, I was able to apply open source and commercially available tools to improve software development practices at my new employer.

Re: Ask HN: How do I choose between a job offer from Google and a promising startup?

#122

Post by nicodjimenez »

Trust your instincts, ignore everyone else, and don't overthink it.

The startup could fail and lead to some other amazing opportunity or you going back to Google with a better job. The startup could succeed and be career defining. The startup could fail and be a waste of time. Google job could be career defining. Google could end up destroying your passion for your job, but make it extremely hard to leave, so you'll be trapped doing work that doesn't mean much for some of the best years of your life.

There's no way of knowing, and no right or wrong decisions when the goal is undefined.

Re: Ask HN: How do I choose between a job offer from Google and a promising startup?

#123

Post by tdsamardzhiev »

Go with Google. Better street cred, better contacts, better salary, better everything. Best of all, it gives you the option to work normal hours and plan your life.

Besides, working for startups is much better experience when you have a strong financial backbone. And promising startups aren't going anywhere.

Re: Ask HN: How do I choose between a job offer from Google and a promising startup?

#127

Post by fatninja »

Go for the startup when you are young(<30) Startup is your best crash course into the industry. It can force you learn lot of things in a short amount of time. Sure, it will be stressful, startup may fail but you got time at your hand and you can move on with your gained experience. If you got into google at this point, your chances of getting into google in the future is on the higher side(+experience from your startup).

Re: Ask HN: How do I choose between a job offer from Google and a promising startup?

#128

Post by dvdhnt »

Good intentions are great, but if the startup fails, 6% of nothing is zero. That’s not including the difficult financial position you could find yourself in if something goes wrong while working for the startup.

Take the money, training, and network. You’ll be well positioned to join or found any number of interesting startups.

Go with Google.

Re: Ask HN: How do I choose between a job offer from Google and a promising startup?

#129

Post by dasil003 »

free652 wrote: post #91
coolwhhip wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sample size of one: my company tends to ding candidates from Google if they have any whiff of the kind of status- or compensation-driven thinking displayed in this comment section. Can sometimes indicate limited independent thinking and low concern for others. Definitely can close doors.

While I don't know about the status, but compensation is definitely is the correct thinking. Startups need to offer something for less compensation, a lot of times they offer less and even less flexible than a big co.

When you're comparing against Google, outside of Facebook/Netflix pretty much all companies offer less. There are certainly plenty of predatory startups out there that are exploiting labor with unrealistic promises of riches and cap tables that guarantee no such happy outcome for employees. As an employee you have to look out for yourself, but if you set Google as the standard then everyone else is going to look cheap. There are many companies out there who simply don't have the unit economics to compete with FAANG, but may be more attractive for other reasons.
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