this is excellent advice. for better or for worse, this describes most startups to a tee. being an individual contributor (i.e. dude with a job) at a startup

this is excellent advice. for better or for worse, this describes most startups to a tee. being an individual contributor (i.e. dude with a job) at a startup is different than a big corporate job or government work. you have to be able to define your own tasks given vague requirements. you have to be able to actually get shit done without someone telling you to get it done. after working in startups for decades, many other jobs seem like adult daycare to me. for people who thrive in autonomy, have decent common sense, and an understanding of what the business or the customer is actually trying to accomplish, it is a wonderful environment. this doesn't mean lots of experience -- some people just have this knack, others don't. fwiw, a large contributor to employee churn at startups (to the extent that it exists) is because you can find out so quickly whether or not someone is full of shit -- they actually have to deliver working stuff fast. in larger organizations they can just hide in the decision-making lagtime/chaos for up to years at a time.