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For most people, joining a startup as an employee straight out of college is a pretty bad career move these days. Your first job has an enormous effect on what

by gamble 17y ago

For most people, joining a startup as an employee straight out of college is a pretty bad career move these days. Your first job has an enormous effect on what options will be available to you down the road. A brand-name company like Google on the resume will open doors that a (likely failed) startup no one has ever heard of simply won't. You can always join a startup or found your own company later. Prior to the dotcom crash, you could at least justify a startup on the potential upside, but with today's meager buyouts and non-existent IPO market even founders don't always end up with a life-changing payout. Employees should expect nothing.

dgabriel 17y ago
Nah. It depends on what kind of career you want to go into, but the very best time to get into a startup is straight out of school. You don't have a family, or a house, or any of the other baggage that necessitates a steady paycheck and solid job security. What kind of opportunities do you think you're passing up? If Google or Apple or Microsoft want you, you can always go back and reapply after your start up experience. Interesting doors open all the time. My first 4 jobs were with startups, my career is fine, even though almost no one has ever heard of the tiny awesome companies I helped to build. I have little kids that need me around, so I found a steadier job in more established organization (which took exactly one resume, and one interview), but I plan on going back into the start up world when they're older.
- gamble 17y ago
  YMMV, but in my experience resumes with 'top-shelf' names like Google or Microsoft on them almost always get a second look during the hiring process, even at startups. Hiring is an inherently uncertain process - association with success is usually taken as a proxy for quality. Of course, if your resume doesn't make the first cull you're not likely to find out why. I worked for a couple of startups out of college. I agree that it's the easiest time to work for a startup, but it's also when you're likely to get the least out of the experience. Junior startup employees have no upside, typically below-market compensation, and don't tend to get the business experience required to start their own companies. Also - and perhaps I'm being cynical - but in hindsight I'm a bit leery of any startup that hires completely inexperienced staff. A startup is distinguished from a small company by its ambition to grow quickly. Hiring staff straight out of college means the company is prioritizing cash over growth, which suggests the founders are either short on capital or simply short-sighted. Neither bodes well for the company's prospects. IMO, the best path for someone interested in startups is to work for a 'prestige' company out of college. Get some experience, build up a bit of capital, and find your co-founders. A successful tech company is the best environment to do that, and association with success will also make raising money easier.

by gamble 17y ago

dgabriel 17y ago

Nah. It depends on what kind of career you want to go into, but the very best time to get into a startup is straight out of school. You don't have a family, or a house, or any of the other baggage that necessitates a steady paycheck and solid job security. What kind of opportunities do you think you're passing up? If Google or Apple or Microsoft want you, you can always go back and reapply after your start up experience. Interesting doors open all the time. My first 4 jobs were with startups, my career is fine, even though almost no one has ever heard of the tiny awesome companies I helped to build. I have little kids that need me around, so I found a steadier job in more established organization (which took exactly one resume, and one interview), but I plan on going back into the start up world when they're older.

gamble 17y ago
YMMV, but in my experience resumes with 'top-shelf' names like Google or Microsoft on them almost always get a second look during the hiring process, even at startups. Hiring is an inherently uncertain process - association with success is usually taken as a proxy for quality. Of course, if your resume doesn't make the first cull you're not likely to find out why. I worked for a couple of startups out of college. I agree that it's the easiest time to work for a startup, but it's also when you're likely to get the least out of the experience. Junior startup employees have no upside, typically below-market compensation, and don't tend to get the business experience required to start their own companies. Also - and perhaps I'm being cynical - but in hindsight I'm a bit leery of any startup that hires completely inexperienced staff. A startup is distinguished from a small company by its ambition to grow quickly. Hiring staff straight out of college means the company is prioritizing cash over growth, which suggests the founders are either short on capital or simply short-sighted. Neither bodes well for the company's prospects. IMO, the best path for someone interested in startups is to work for a 'prestige' company out of college. Get some experience, build up a bit of capital, and find your co-founders. A successful tech company is the best environment to do that, and association with success will also make raising money easier.