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Working for a startup makes less sense, unless you are into the mission

jatins.gitlab.io

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Re: Working for a startup makes less sense, unless you are into the mission

#61

Post by save_ferris »

birken wrote: post #53

One thing that gets glossed over a lot with startups is that often times the technical skill level is really low. If you are a young engineer and you are hoping to learn technical skills, be very very careful about which startup you join because you might end up at one where nobody actually has any idea what they are doing. And if you yourself are in the learning phase of your career, you might not have the experienc…

> At least one very important benefit of joining a big, reputable company is that the technical skill level will be good

I don't believe this is a universal truth, especially since your experience at a large company is largely dictated by the specific team you work on. I've definitely worked for small startups that were far more talented than some of the technical teams I've worked on at big companies.

Re: Working for a startup makes less sense, unless you are into the mission

#62

Post by swiftcoder »

CryoLogic wrote: post #4

The comp packages at big tech companies are becoming insane. In Seattle it's not unreasonable for a senior software engineer with some good connections to be making 200-250k. With that comes life insurance, health insurance for your whole family, disability insurance, etc. That's more in cash AND benefits than a doctor.

A senior engineer at a BigCo in Seattle with good connections should be making 300-500k (mix of cash and RSUs).

Re: Working for a startup makes less sense, unless you are into the mission

#63

Post by jki275 »

CryoLogic wrote: post #4

The comp packages at big tech companies are becoming insane. In Seattle it's not unreasonable for a senior software engineer with some good connections to be making 200-250k. With that comes life insurance, health insurance for your whole family, disability insurance, etc. That's more in cash AND benefits than a doctor.

Doctors make significantly more than that. Double that at minimum for a successful doctor.

Re: Working for a startup makes less sense, unless you are into the mission

#64

Post by Kinnard »

acconrad wrote: post #21

As someone who was a 1st engineer of a startup that successfully exited I had what would be considered a good payout. When looking over the course of my career, however, it simply made up for the reduced salary I took for the years I worked there. It was a net-neutral outcome to be the 1st engineer at a startup that actually exited for a substantial (8-figure deal) outcome which already puts me in the minority. So no…

Rate-of-learning: the most valuable startup compensation: https://kyletibbitts.com/rate-of-learning-the-most-valuable-... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13575706

Re: Working for a startup makes less sense, unless you are into the mission

#65

Post by rekwah »

fizwhiz wrote: post #59
acconrad wrote: post #21

As someone who was a 1st engineer of a startup that successfully exited I had what would be considered a good payout. When looking over the course of my career, however, it simply made up for the reduced salary I took for the years I worked there. It was a net-neutral outcome to be the 1st engineer at a startup that actually exited for a substantial (8-figure deal) outcome which already puts me in the minority. So no…

What's the Big 4 in this context? Generally that term applies to accounting firms (PWC, E&Y etc.)

Google, Amazon, Facebook, or Apple.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Four_tech_companies

Re: Working for a startup makes less sense, unless you are into the mission

#66

Post by [deleted] »

fizwhiz wrote: post #59
acconrad wrote: post #21

As someone who was a 1st engineer of a startup that successfully exited I had what would be considered a good payout. When looking over the course of my career, however, it simply made up for the reduced salary I took for the years I worked there. It was a net-neutral outcome to be the 1st engineer at a startup that actually exited for a substantial (8-figure deal) outcome which already puts me in the minority. So no…

What's the Big 4 in this context? Generally that term applies to accounting firms (PWC, E&Y etc.)

[deleted]

Re: Working for a startup makes less sense, unless you are into the mission

#67

Post by hobofan »

seem_2211 wrote: post #24
CryoLogic wrote: post #4

The comp packages at big tech companies are becoming insane. In Seattle it's not unreasonable for a senior software engineer with some good connections to be making 200-250k. With that comes life insurance, health insurance for your whole family, disability insurance, etc. That's more in cash AND benefits than a doctor.

I think the question needs to be asked: will this last for the next 25-30 years? I really hope so, but unlike being a doctor, it's a lot more uncertain than we'd like it to be.

Unless there are extreme breakthroughs in making software engineering approachable for currently not quite as qualified people, I don't see it changing. Breaking the social stigma of "nah that is extremely complicated, I can't learn that" would also be a big one.

BIG SIMPLIFICATIONS AHEAD

There are a lot of new software engineers popping up all the time, but very few ever reach a "senior" change, and a lot of them end up producing unmaintainable systems at companies, that sooner or later crumble. All at the same time, demand for good software engineers is growing and growing.

There are also an interesting effect I'm starting to see more often (in Berlin), that due to combination of high salaries and moderate living costs, which make saving up money possible, qualified engineers are (partially) leaving the workforce quite early, either by dropping to part-time or retiring early. This then further lowers the available supply, making salaries even higher, and it even easier to save up money. More of a hunch than a big observable effect right now, but I'm very interested in seeing how that plays out over the coming years.

Re: Working for a startup makes less sense, unless you are into the mission

#68

Post by orky56 »

fizwhiz wrote: post #59
acconrad wrote: post #21

As someone who was a 1st engineer of a startup that successfully exited I had what would be considered a good payout. When looking over the course of my career, however, it simply made up for the reduced salary I took for the years I worked there. It was a net-neutral outcome to be the 1st engineer at a startup that actually exited for a substantial (8-figure deal) outcome which already puts me in the minority. So no…

What's the Big 4 in this context? Generally that term applies to accounting firms (PWC, E&Y etc.)

Usually FAANG pre-Netflix

Re: Working for a startup makes less sense, unless you are into the mission

#69

Post by subscope »

fizwhiz wrote: post #59
acconrad wrote: post #21

As someone who was a 1st engineer of a startup that successfully exited I had what would be considered a good payout. When looking over the course of my career, however, it simply made up for the reduced salary I took for the years I worked there. It was a net-neutral outcome to be the 1st engineer at a startup that actually exited for a substantial (8-figure deal) outcome which already puts me in the minority. So no…

What's the Big 4 in this context? Generally that term applies to accounting firms (PWC, E&Y etc.)

Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google.

Re: Working for a startup makes less sense, unless you are into the mission

#70

Post by LAMike »

rubicon33 wrote: post #12

> That startup sold for 200 million dollars and, as the 10th engineer, I made ... 15000 dollars from that exit. Why so low?

He's from India, I think it's not as common to get a big equity package as some startups in the US.

I was confused too

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