My previous job was at a company that fluctuated between 15-25 people, not exactly a startup so you can call it "old smallco". My current job is at a company of

My previous job was at a company that fluctuated between 15-25 people, not exactly a startup so you can call it "old smallco". My current job is at a company of 4-5 thousand with multiple offices in different countries. My experience is as follows Pros of "smallco": - Felt like a family business, friendly atmosphere, great relationship with everyone - You get to do things outside your job spec and consequently acquire a broad range of skills - Design freedom, your input is never dismissed/ignored - "Vertical" knowledge of the product (design, manufacturing, testing), familiarity with every component even if completely unrelated to your skills - Virtually no bureaucracy, very small time-to-fix (from identifying a problem to deploying the fix) - Never boring Cons: - Job insecurity. The company can basically go under any day - Salary is not amazing, raises are infrequent and small - At some point you are basically the expert in your domain. This means there's none more experienced than you to teach you new things or give you some great insight - No rigorous process, minimal documentation, you basically end up hacking together stuff as you go Pros of bigger company: - Higher job security, better salary, benefits and career opportunities - Better process, your work is more organized - Plenty of people around you that can help you learn and advance your skills Cons: - Little freedom to design, you need to stay in your "lane", improvisation is a no-no. This is not bad per se, it's just not as exciting - Months go by and you still don't know 1/4 of the people on your floor. Relationships are more formal - Bureaucracy is sometimes infuriating. Need another chair? send an e-mail to the correct department, wait a day or two. Need to use your favorite text editor instead of the company standard? You need approval from your manager. Never worked in a behemoth like google, ms, intel,etc. but I expect the pros/cons to be even more accentuated.