Hacker News Reader

That all is correct and leads to a very simple conclusion: working for a startup has a very low probability of making you rich. Doesn't mean that people shouldn't do it, but it's better to have healthy expectations.

View on HN

I still think its good for college grads, gives you a lot of leeway and space to play around with many different hats and find one that fits you better.

Incredibly lousy way to make money though, odds you will hit jackpot are none unless you're one of the founders and even then odds are still small.

If a college grad is choosing between faang and no-name startup, their career will likely go over much better than no-name startup. Having the big name on your resume does wonders. Even for experienced candidates, keep taking the big name. The market rewards it. (Including startups - compensation packages for people with faang resumes usually are better)

I mean, it's still a pretty good way to make money, when compared to other fields and not to other engineers at FAANG.

Yep. There’s very many reasons to work at a startup. Thanks for mentioning that.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com