Reasons to Turn Down That Startup Job • Hacker News Board

Re: Reasons to Turn Down That Startup Job

#31

Post by collyw » Fri, Aug 28, 2015, 7:47 AM UTC

manigandham wrote: post #24

sown wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Being able to take an idea and turn it in to a product is a brilliant skill that startups absolutely need, but equally, once the product is out there being used, you need the other skill set to maintain the product and add new things without annoying the users. But guess who gets the glory? :(

If you want the glory, you're either in the wrong position or the wrong industry.

"Fixing bugs and keeping the thing running" never sounds as impressive on a CV as "created this product from scratch using ....".

That's how I interpreted what was being said rather than expecting fame in the hacker community.

Re: Reasons to Turn Down That Startup Job

#32

Post by j-pb » Fri, Aug 28, 2015, 7:48 AM UTC

facetube wrote: post #15

BinaryIdiot wrote: post #3

This should really be "8 reasons to turn down that startup job as your first job" as most of the bullet points are really only geared towards someone in or leaving college. This should be obvious from the website's name but without context it took me a minute before I realized. That being said the #7 point of "The world needs fixing, not disrupting" seems to lose sight of what disruption really is and conflates it wi…

Honest question: have you ever worked a job in that service economy and fallen seriously ill? Things turn in to a shitshow really quickly when six-figure bills start raining in from oncology, your for-profit insurer starts denying claims after you've cleared the massive $5,000 deductible and $6,250 out-of-pocket maximum, you're technically "self-employed" and have no access to employee protections like paid sick time…

Or you know, you could come to Europe, found your startup here and get free healthcare.

I would guess immigration isn't that hard for a highly skilled computer scientist.

My meds cost 100€ per day (MS) and I have to worry about my disease but not about paying for treatment.

Re: Reasons to Turn Down That Startup Job

#33

Post by jarrettlenox » Fri, Aug 28, 2015, 7:50 AM UTC

jarjoura wrote: post #14

I don't know, because I'm an engineer, but what I learned from Apple, was not the work I was doing, but it was from being surrounded by such brilliance. I would go to lunch (or dinner) with the guy who wrote the javascript engine. Or pop into the office, during a beer bash, of the engineer who wrote the original UIScrollView and pick his brain about why they did things a certain way. The actual day to day work though…

This is the best comment that I've seen in a long time. Thank you. Kudos. I hope that you're successful and happy.

Re: Reasons to Turn Down That Startup Job

#34

Post by collyw » Fri, Aug 28, 2015, 7:53 AM UTC

Animats wrote: post #20

From the article: "I hate to tell you this, but right now the startup world, or at least the ones making the majority of the noise, have their heads up their own ass and don’t realize it stinks. They’re solving problems for the top 5% of the population. How can I get poor people to do my chores? How can I get people to drive me around without having to pay them health insurance? How can a drone deliver my toilet pape…

he does say "or at least the ones making the most noise".

Re: Reasons to Turn Down That Startup Job

#35

Post by mikkom » Fri, Aug 28, 2015, 7:59 AM UTC

Please note: This advice is for designers who have just graduated from art school. The answers are for question:

"Q: I graduated from school this year and I’ve been looking for my first job. After interviewing around, I finally got a job offer at a small startup. How do I decide if it’s the right offer to take?"

Re: Reasons to Turn Down That Startup Job

#36

Post by humanrebar » Fri, Aug 28, 2015, 8:01 AM UTC

facetube wrote: post #15

BinaryIdiot wrote: post #3

This should really be "8 reasons to turn down that startup job as your first job" as most of the bullet points are really only geared towards someone in or leaving college. This should be obvious from the website's name but without context it took me a minute before I realized. That being said the #7 point of "The world needs fixing, not disrupting" seems to lose sight of what disruption really is and conflates it wi…

Honest question: have you ever worked a job in that service economy and fallen seriously ill? Things turn in to a shitshow really quickly when six-figure bills start raining in from oncology, your for-profit insurer starts denying claims after you've cleared the massive $5,000 deductible and $6,250 out-of-pocket maximum, you're technically "self-employed" and have no access to employee protections like paid sick time…

> have you ever worked a job in that service economy and fallen seriously ill?

I'm confused. Is this a hypothetical where the employee doesn't have short- and long-term disability insurance?

The practical answer is to have insurance to cover risks.

Re: Reasons to Turn Down That Startup Job

#37

Post by lucasnemeth » Fri, Aug 28, 2015, 8:42 AM UTC

Animats wrote: post #20

From the article: "I hate to tell you this, but right now the startup world, or at least the ones making the majority of the noise, have their heads up their own ass and don’t realize it stinks. They’re solving problems for the top 5% of the population. How can I get poor people to do my chores? How can I get people to drive me around without having to pay them health insurance? How can a drone deliver my toilet pape…

I find the rant of the article exaggerated and ridiculous. But actually a lot of those companies do fit the criteria.

Re: Reasons to Turn Down That Startup Job

#38

Post by jrk_ » Fri, Aug 28, 2015, 10:43 AM UTC

j-pb wrote: post #32

facetube wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honest question: have you ever worked a job in that service economy and fallen seriously ill? Things turn in to a shitshow really quickly when six-figure bills start raining in from oncology, your for-profit insurer starts denying claims after you've cleared the massive $5,000 deductible and $6,250 out-of-pocket maximum, you're technically "self-employed" and have no access to employee protections like paid sick time…

Or you know, you could come to Europe, found your startup here and get free healthcare. I would guess immigration isn't that hard for a highly skilled computer scientist. My meds cost 100€ per day (MS) and I have to worry about my disease but not about paying for treatment.

Not sure which part of Europe you are speaking of, but I have to pay around 15% of my income for the (mandatory) insurance, which then provides me with (almost) unlimited health care. If you are unemployed it is a lot harder to get health benefits, especially if you are a foreigner and haven't worked (==payed for the insurance) before. Just saying, that it's not like "come here, we have free health care and everything".

Anecdotally I can tell you that I also need regular medication (not in the same range as you, but still), and I was unemployed after college for some time. I got the meds, but only because my parents paid the minimum "social tariff" for health insurance, which is around 150€/month.

Re: Reasons to Turn Down That Startup Job

#39

Post by nerdwaller » Fri, Aug 28, 2015, 1:32 PM UTC

sown wrote: post #19

onion2k wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At a company like Apple, I gained skills adding a feature to an existing product. At a startup, I gained skills building a product from nothing but an idea. Being able to take an idea and turn it in to a product is a brilliant skill that startups absolutely need, but equally, once the product is out there being used, you need the other skill set to maintain the product and add new things without annoying the users. H…

> Being able to take an idea and turn it in to a product is a brilliant skill that startups absolutely need, but equally, once the product is out there being used, you need the other skill set to maintain the product and add new things without annoying the users. But guess who gets the glory? :(

Frankly that's a potentially dangerous state of mind. Impulse you rather accomplish something little and get the glory or be on the team that got man on the moon?

In my opinion, it's amazing what you can accomplish when you don't care who gets the credit. You're stronger with others than on your own.

Re: Reasons to Turn Down That Startup Job

#40

Post by csixty4 » Fri, Aug 28, 2015, 3:40 PM UTC

guelo wrote: post #13

At a startup you'll have way more responsibility and be making decisions at a much higher level than at bigcorp. You'll learn way more, move much faster, wear more hats. It's not even close. That mentor will put you on some narrow meaningless tasks, especially if you have some talent because then he'll be afraid of you. I'd advise the opposite, go startup when you're young and have less to risk and more to prove. If…

> At a startup you'll have way more responsibility and be making decisions at a much higher level than at bigcorp.

LOL. Seriously LOL. Literally laughing out loud and people are staring at me.

We've worked for some VERY different startups. At the last startup I worked for, I couldn't even choose whether my monitor was rotated to portrait or landscape mode. The co-founder changed it to the "better" mode for me.