I've worked at both startups and big companies since I first came to SV in 1999. And some startups that became big companies. For me, there's much more than the practical & financial considerations laid out here. Deep down I know that I enjoy taking risks -- I like the roller coaster ride, and having a very real and visible impact on whether the company as a whole sinks or swims. Know yourself and don't ignore your i…
If you think you're that good at picking financially successful startups, why not invest just money rather than time AND money?
Because more people have time to invest than have money. And because investing time in a fast-growing startup is a hell of a lot more fun.
I'd recommend anyone looking for their first job out of university to consider strongly a job at a startup. Consider it a 'finishing school', where you'll have the highest chance to touch as many different technologies and tasks as possible (from system administration, to backend to frontend work), as opposed to the 'Big Company' where (especially for a first job) you'll be focused on one task. The important thing is…
Everyone is either saying go to a big corp or go to a startup as your first job. What I usually tell new grads is: Get offers from both, and take the job that has the best potential person or people that you'll be able to learn from. There are a bunch of ways you can research this. Try asking people on the team to tell you who they've learned the most from in their career. Do not take a job where you'll be a lone wol…
^^ Great advice. I had a college student ask me for input on this very question this morning and my response was not to stress too much about finding "the best, most ultimate company ever to work for," but to find a position where you can learn a lot and develop skills you know you need from people willing to invest time in you. (As an aside, something like 70% of people say the most stressful part of their job is their boss. So if there are ways to screen for working with someone who is willing to take the time to cultivate you, amazing.) I think it's tough, especially for the generation of students graduating from college right now (millennials coached to believe they need to have a HUGE impact wherever they go and to believe that their contributions are insanely important), to understand that a first job is just a first step and is not career-defining, in my opinion. You can work somewhere, get some good experience, and then leverage that to get a job you're really excited about.
I'd recommend anyone looking for their first job out of university to consider strongly a job at a startup. Consider it a 'finishing school', where you'll have the highest chance to touch as many different technologies and tasks as possible (from system administration, to backend to frontend work), as opposed to the 'Big Company' where (especially for a first job) you'll be focused on one task. The important thing is…
> leave after one year
I've been trying to leave my small company for a mid-sized startup in NYC (currently in NJ). Started just before my year mark. Almost every startup wanted someone with more experience under their belt. Of the few that were willing to take on someone with one year, I was still in competition with others who had much more experience. I got the same line over and over again - "strong technically, passionate, good fundamentals, but we need someone more experienced". So I waited a few months and tried again. It's gone a lot better so far (no offers yet) but I've had to shift my image from that of a young up-and-comer to one who knows how to Get Stuff Done. I stopped asking about mentorship opportunities. I still really want to work at a startup but I need a new job ASAP - I don't think I'll be attractive to them for a few more months at least.
I've been out of school 3-4 years, and I work at a large company. I'm about 10% a manager, 10% a resident data scientist, and 80% a coder, and I love my job.
so are you a valley coder at netflix? seems suspect you already have a 250k salary as a 26 yr old
Don't forget that there are other options. I work for a small consulting company. Our size allows us to have the agility of a start-up, but without the long hours and the stress of your product failing.
I'd recommend anyone looking for their first job out of university to consider strongly a job at a startup. Consider it a 'finishing school', where you'll have the highest chance to touch as many different technologies and tasks as possible (from system administration, to backend to frontend work), as opposed to the 'Big Company' where (especially for a first job) you'll be focused on one task. The important thing is…
Alternative view: large corps often have graduate programs that will cycle you through various parts of the business (Cap Gem's is particularly good, IMO), and make a great platform for figuring out what you want to do next.
Yes, my sister did this -- she was a bright college grad and went through an associate program. Gave her a ton of exposure and helped her then find her niche and accelerate quickly. Let's be honest, know one in college knows what the ins and outs of "marketing" or "customer success" or "operations" looks like; my sister was surprised to find herself really interested in the niche field of fraud for a big travel booking company, and now she's able to parlay that expertise to get a higher salary and better job title elsewhere.
Do contract work at $250 an hour or equivalent compensation in shares at >= series B funded startups. Choose the level of risk you're willing to accept in cash vs equity. (Nearly) completely avoid politics and other office related BS. Take vacation between gigs if you like. Get a very broad variety of experiences at different companies and get a good feeling for what companies are willing to pay for should you decide to start your own.
Because you're not legally able to do so unless you're an accredited investor?
Is this true? if so, how can sites like angel.co exist? I believe I can invest in most of the startups right now on there..
From the AngelList FAQ: "Investors are required to fill out a questionnaire to establish that they are accredited. You can only accept money from accredited investors whether you raise money publicly or not."
250k a year in 5 years at a big corporation, really? Yea if you're lucky to work on a project/team higher-ups care about and are also willing to bust your ass working long hours to meet insane deadlines. Also, you better be someone who is excellent at communication and charismatic if you want to get invited to the table of interesting work. There are a lot of brilliant hyper-competitive people who work at these big c…
Yeah I saw that and thought, ok maybe if you are on of the known or maintain a popular open source package, a conference speaker. But 250k in year 5 is not a number that rings true. Or, maybe I am doing something wrong here and am underpaid...
200k for sr in the valley is not weird.
Remember: it's not year 5 of your career. It's year 5 of your tenure at one company. It's a little unusual for people to stay longer than 4 years at most companies.