Ask HN: FOMO by working in startups only vs. Big companies

Hi HN folks, I can't think of a better place to ask this.

So I'm not a software engineer but robotics, and my masters degree was more of an "jack of all trades, master of none" in Robotics (but more towards software side of it)

I've now worked for about 3-4 years, so still a junior, but mostly at startups (and in my 3rd one).

Hitting my 30s last year and recently talking to a person slightly younger than me with similar background I got the sense of FOMO. this person had a similar degree and first job out of college at an (now failed) startup, but just recently landed a SDE job at Amazon.

As I haven't really worked at big companies, I've always had this nascent feeling that I never really learned "the right way" to do things. I often feel like a "patchwork engineer", learning how things work only sufficiently to make things work in a smaller scale without understanding important big project/organization principles. (or maintaining stuff)

How much of this is valid, and how much is just the misconception "the grass is greener" at big companies? Is it valuable to try to apply to big companies to get a good foundation in "the right way" to do things? I feel like I've also cornered myself with my resume / experience by only working at startups, and might not even be a lucrative candidate for larger organizations. (30s crisis not withstanding)

Any insight is much appreciated!

> I've now worked for about 3-4 years, so still a junior, but mostly at startups (and in my 3rd one).

Your issue here is really tenure , there’s a lot of software engineering fields for which you won’t know anything after a year in the role.

I think this could happen at a small or large company. It sounds like instead of blindly choosing a company, you need to figure out how to pick teams and projects where you can grow.

Some things to look for include senior engineers who are happy to mentor (not teach or guide or instruct but to mentor), look for companies that are growing or making new products, and if all else fails look for a place with some sort of educational stipend you can spend going to industry conferences or what not.

Try it out! You're still young. If it's not your cup of tea, you can pivot back.

My FOMO issue was wanting to work in one of the sexy Silicon Valley style tech companies, after having only worked in big enterprise non-tech companies for my entire career. Recently made the switch last year. In my case, the grass was indeed greener on the other side.

I don't think you are missing anything here. Both work in different ways (I have worked with companies as large as 250k+ employees to 2 employees). Both try to achieve different things (make something from zero, and create drastic value, v/s incremental changes and building and sustaining existing revenue streams) As an engineer: in bigger company, you will learn how large scale projects are pulled with so many people, v/s in small ones, you know what you are learning. In startup's favour: since a company from 2-1000 employees can be called a startup, so what I mentioned about large scale projects in bigger companies, you can learn that in these companies as well. I would suggest you to speak to more such people and get their perspective. You will figure out what both businesses offer, and based on what you want to do in your life, you can make an informed decision.