Ask HN: Moving from a startup to a big co, what should I be aware of? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Moving from a startup to a big co, what should I be aware of?

#11

Post by ramanujank » Tue, Jun 09, 2020, 5:37 AM UTC

Having gone through a similar experience, I would say that your experience may vary depending on org culture, sub-culture within individual teams, and the traits of your manager. That said, there are always loose ends that will need ownership and that's where your "entrepreneurial" chops would kick in. You approach to execution would/should reflect on the lessons you've learnt.

Startup - Enterprise does not mean a paradigm shift in everything. Yes, there are some aspects that would change. And then there will be a lot of scope for applying your self-made learning and leanings.

Re: Ask HN: Moving from a startup to a big co, what should I be aware of?

#12

Post by hoorayimhelping » Tue, Jun 09, 2020, 5:38 AM UTC

>Moreover, I don’t have a lot of reserve energy in the tank to direct it at another startup after 10 years of blood, sweat and toil.

>...What are some things I should consider before switching?

Take a break if you can afford it. I think that will serve you better than almost any other thing you can do, work related. I've felt this way, and took a few months off, I was champing at the bit to get back to work and start making something happen. You'll think a lot clearer about what you want to do next with some time away.

After you get out of a serious relationship, you need time to heal, regroup, re-find yourself, re-learn who you are, etc before you start dating again. It's similar with jobs you put a lot into.

Re: Ask HN: Moving from a startup to a big co, what should I be aware of?

#13

Post by systematical » Tue, Jun 09, 2020, 5:39 AM UTC

Well my journey was a bit different than yours. I was Lead Dev at a small startup (I hope your experience is better. If you're going to a FAANG I imagine it will be. This place is much more buttoned up.

Re: Ask HN: Moving from a startup to a big co, what should I be aware of?

#14

Post by pcannons » Tue, Jun 09, 2020, 5:41 AM UTC

This post is relevant and made it to page 2 recently: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23305216

Re: Ask HN: Moving from a startup to a big co, what should I be aware of?

#15

Post by systematical » Tue, Jun 09, 2020, 5:44 AM UTC

austincheney wrote: post #5

Here is what it means to work at a big company: * Things work slowly, so relax. There are many people that have a hand in every aspect of a product decision. * At a startup you are actively changing the world. That’s done now. Put that completely out of your head. You are cog in a machine. Instead focus on your assigned product, help your teammates, and just learn to relax. * You, the individual, are not important. T…

This nails it.

Re: Ask HN: Moving from a startup to a big co, what should I be aware of?

#16

Post by chrissnell » Tue, Jun 09, 2020, 5:44 AM UTC

austincheney wrote: post #5

Here is what it means to work at a big company: * Things work slowly, so relax. There are many people that have a hand in every aspect of a product decision. * At a startup you are actively changing the world. That’s done now. Put that completely out of your head. You are cog in a machine. Instead focus on your assigned product, help your teammates, and just learn to relax. * You, the individual, are not important. T…

This is all fantastic advice. I spent the first 26 years of my career working at startups and small companies before taking a job at a big, public tech company last year. This advice is spot-on.

I find that I'm actually working much harder here but my work is more focused and in a single lane. I'm not bouncing around all day between 20 different things. I'm grinding for months on end on one tough, big problem. It's not bad, just...different. The pay is much better here but you are expected to _be_ better.

Re: Ask HN: Moving from a startup to a big co, what should I be aware of?

#17

Post by fistfucker3000 » Tue, Jun 09, 2020, 5:44 AM UTC

hoorayimhelping wrote: post #12

> Moreover, I don’t have a lot of reserve energy in the tank to direct it at another startup after 10 years of blood, sweat and toil. > ...What are some things I should consider before switching? Take a break if you can afford it. I think that will serve you better than almost any other thing you can do, work related. I've felt this way, and took a few months off, I was champing at the bit to get back to work and sta…

I hard agree. Startups can burn you out a lot. I've been there myself. The best position is if you can line up a start date a month or two after quitting.

Re: Ask HN: Moving from a startup to a big co, what should I be aware of?

#18

Post by soared » Tue, Jun 09, 2020, 5:45 AM UTC

austincheney wrote: post #5

Here is what it means to work at a big company: * Things work slowly, so relax. There are many people that have a hand in every aspect of a product decision. * At a startup you are actively changing the world. That’s done now. Put that completely out of your head. You are cog in a machine. Instead focus on your assigned product, help your teammates, and just learn to relax. * You, the individual, are not important. T…

* Things work slowly, so relax.

The extent of this is hard to grasp outside of bigco. At oracle we had layoffs/reorg - no real work was done for ~7 days, and it took 3 months to figure out our new roles/responsibilities. Some people were paid $40k+ in that time period and did very little work.

Things occasionally move very very slow. Twiddle your thumbs and be happy about your huge salary, don't quit like I did!

Re: Ask HN: Moving from a startup to a big co, what should I be aware of?

#19

Post by systematical » Tue, Jun 09, 2020, 5:46 AM UTC

blackoil wrote: post #10

Work is not everything, learn rest of "political" skills if you are not good at them, like presentation, speaking, writing. Most big corps have done really smart people, don't be afraid to actively seek to learn from them.

This is good advice, these are all areas where I have improved.

Re: Ask HN: Moving from a startup to a big co, what should I be aware of?

#20

Post by localhost » Tue, Jun 09, 2020, 5:49 AM UTC

It’s all about trade offs. You will have a tremendous amount of leverage at a big co. Customers who would otherwise not give you the time of the day at a startup will be happy to talk to you. Take advantage of this and learn from them.

On the other hand you will also have to pay taxes at a big co. Big co got that way in many cases because they have an integrated solution for customers. Integration is expensive but worth it. It takes a lot of people to be in alignment to make integration work. And that takes time; you need to be patient and look for opportunities to make a difference.