Personally, I found the problem isn't engineering. I do that for free in my spare time. It's dealing with corporate bullshit that grinds me down.
As such, helping worthy causes with their technology problems can be hugely rewarding.
As such, helping worthy causes with their technology problems can be hugely rewarding.
Large companies usually have people with a deep knowledge in one particular skillset, whereas small companies are more likely to be made up of generalists. One person, for example, had worked for 2 decades only in securing IT processes for insurance companies. Another was a project manager with a real gift for spinning a positive story from what I saw as a disaster. I learned a lot, even from people who otherwise mostly frustrated me.
That being said, I've filled that gap with meetups and deliberate networking. I have no regrets about making the trade-off.
The obvious thing is the perks. When I worked in an 8000 person company, I got to go to any tech conference I wanted, got to attend leadership training courses, had more $200/person meals than I’d ever had before in my life, they’d rent out large venues like the Academy of Sciences for company events and just a lot higher comp.
At the 30-person company, there just wasn’t the budget for that stuff. Which isn’t to say that large corporate job is better…none of that stuff makes up for the soul-sucking parts of those big companies, but that doesn’t mean you don’t miss all that excess when you no longer have it.
Get a 4-day, too