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

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

#221

Post by kcorbitt » Tue, Sep 18, 2018, 5:46 PM UTC

Hydraulix989 wrote: post #215

joshuamorton wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I stayed beyond one year, so idk. But I'd expect pre-tax. Obviously you wouldn't pay tax on the amount you return, so it's not really an important distinction.

Typically, the company withholds the tax for you though. I've heard stories of companies demanding the pre-tax amounts even though THEY "paid" your tax already by withholding it.

This all gets adjusted at tax filing time. The pay I returned to Google essentially counted as "negative pay" and decreases the amount of taxable income reported for the year I returned it.

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

#222

Post by kcorbitt » Tue, Sep 18, 2018, 5:56 PM UTC

byebyetech wrote: post #220

kcorbitt wrote: post #46

I was faced with a similar choice two years ago and went with Google. I really didn't enjoy my time there; turns out big companies really aren't my cup of tea. I also learned much less than I would have somewhere else because Google's stack is quite proprietary and I simply wasn't motivated in that environment. I quit after only 8 months. So it may surprise you that I'd recommend taking the Google offer! In my mind,…

Even working at Google just for 8 months was a resume booster? Don't they ask you why you left in such a short time?

1. In everyday conversation, it doesn't come up. Not that I hide the fact that I left early, but the natural conversation usually goes "when I was working at Google ..." not "When I was working at Google, which I left after only 8 months, ..."

2. Sometimes it does come up (including while interviewing for my current job), and someone will ask me why I left so soon. I just tell the truth, which is that I liked my coworkers and the perks but didn't particularly enjoy the big-company atmosphere. Most people I talk to working in startups can identify with that and don't hold it against me. Of course, if I had a string of several companies that I worked at for less than a year each, I'm sure that would be interpreted differently. But that's not the case.

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

#223

Post by dasil003 » Tue, Sep 18, 2018, 9:59 PM UTC

slededit wrote: post #218

dasil003 wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My main point is that Google doesn't define market comp, they define top-of-market comp. If you are a software engineer expecting to make Google money then you need to make peace with the fact that there are very very few places where you can earn that. It doesn't mean that all other companies are somehow low-balling or cheating their devs just because they don't have Google's money hose of a business.

I think the issue is everyone is saying they want the best - when it’s clear they either don’t or can’t afford it.

The best engineers are not always the highest paid engineers, and the best performers do not have equal performance in all contexts.

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

#224

Post by SZJX » Sat, Sep 22, 2018, 12:13 PM UTC

khazhou wrote: post #181

pbiggar wrote: post #25

Disclaimer: I'm a founder of an early stage startup, so I'm biased. You need to figure out what your goals are. We can't answer for you because we don't know what you want. If your goal is just money (which is fine, don't be afraid to say this), then definitely go to google. In 10 years you'll be earning 500k per year, and have put away a ton of cash too. Financially, if the startup is successful you_might_ make $10m…

Disclaimer: I'm an ex-FANG, ex-founder, now-again-FANG, so I'm also biased. I'm somewhat bothered by your comment about money: > If your goal is just money (which is fine, don't be afraid to say this), then definitely go to google. I find this disingenuous, as money is also a big reason why people do startups, both the employees and the founders. The founders could have chosen to implement their idea inside Google or…

Not sure if big companies are the best place to realize most visions. Google seems to make a mess of almost every new product they put out nowadays. They simply don't care with all that revenue. Many startups that focus on one thing and do it well are unlikely to have developed at a similar pace at a big company?