Ask HN: Advice on working at a large company or startup? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Advice on working at a large company or startup?

7 pointseraeboess4 comments

I have a job offer from two places: one's a large company (like Google/Microsoft/Amazon) and the other's a startup (about 20 people). The work is pretty similar at both (research-oriented), though there would be a little more engineering at the startup, and the pay is about the same (depending on what you think of stock options at a startup), so the decision is really boiling down to whether I want to work at a corporation or a startup.

I see a couple pros and cons of both (listed below), so I'm curious what other people think.

Pros of corporation: - More of a '9-5' job, so I have a lot of time to explore thing on my own. (I have projects with friends to play with and a bunch of random stuff I want to learn, like physics and playing the violin.) - I'd have more people I'd be working with. (Here, I'd be a member of a research-ish team, whereas at the startup, I'd kinda be a one-man research team. So while I'd interact with a lot of people, it would be more to get engineering ideas or general directions to explore, and I wouldn't really have anyone to bounce research/theory ideas off of.)

Cons of corporation: - The work itself would be the same as the startup, but the environment itself would probably be less fun. - Fewer people my age.

Pros of startup: - More fun environment. - I'd have a more important role (leading a team, rather than being a member of a team).

Cons of startup: - Probably less time to explore my own things. (Actually, what do Hacker News people think? Do people working at startups usually have a good split between working on their own projects and doing stuff for the startup?) - Like I mentioned above, I'm very interested in math and theory, and wouldn't have as much interaction with these kind of folks at the startup, as compared with the large company.

Any thoughts?

Large Companies:

-- In a labs or research group you get to follow your own interests. I had a lot of fun in my year at HP Labs.

-- Software product development often has smart people and you can have flexibility in what you do. The key is whether you are working with a dozen or two of people or a cast of thousands where you are a pigeon in a hole. The larger the group, the more likely you are a plugin module, stuck in a role, susceptible to offshoring.

-- IT is probably the pits and should be avoided.

If you are looking at a raw startup, you really need to understand the environment. Sure, you get to do lots of things and have a lot of flexibility, but there is a good chance that you will have to work 60 hour weeks. If you aren't prepared for high energy and high commitment, it can take a toll on you and your family. If you are, it can be a hell of a ride. Also take into account of the funding/financial side of the startup or you may find no food on the table. One thing is do NOT go in with the expectation of getting rich, particularly if you are not a founder. Most of the time you won't. Dont take this as a negative, I think startups are more fun than nearly anything else.

Another class to consider is a small fast growing company of 20 to 200 people. It's a lot like a startup, but you can have a life too.

In the end it comes down to gut feel, unless you think you like both jobs the same.

In my experience working at a large engineering company, having smart people around doesn't really help you learn much more after the first six months or so. After that, you kind of just fill a role for them and it is hard to break out of that role. You will always be "the whatever" guy or gal.

Large companies offer a lot that small companies don't, but I think (hope) that working at a small company provides more job motivation. I suspect that job motivation is the key to job satisfaction.

I think it depends on your goals. If your hungry, and can really manage I would start with the startup. If your goal really is to possibly move towards entrepreneurial things then .. its good to see, and start your career off with the right understanding of how you should train in the arts of being a software jedi. Long hours, rigorous reading, training. Wearing every single hat possible, and grabbing every opportunity. When your ready to move on (if you do), then the big company will still be there. And yes working at a startup with people your age that you get along with, not only makes a crappy job fun, but can make many good friendships and connections for the future as well.

You will hit beaureaucracy at big companies, that's for sure. To get done simple things you have to get tons of signatures. A, don't forget those pesky meetings...

At a startups probably you will work more...but ask for options too, not just salary.

In the end it depends on your personality...boring or fun?

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