I'm not exactly a prolific poster, but if you look at my post history, you can probably get some additional insight on the BigCo situation especially non-tech.

I'm not exactly a prolific poster, but if you look at my post history, you can probably get some additional insight on the BigCo situation especially non-tech. One thing I'd like to talk about is the bureaucracy in big companies, which is often criticized but actually has some rationality to it: To some, the bureaucracy seems like a byzantine game with unwritten rules designed to have you fail, but it's actually a lot simpler and far less nefarious than that. What it really comes down to is that BigCo has a lot of leaders aligned across a lot of functions, and getting large, impactful things that HN-types like to do will generally require buy-in across multiple leaders and their managers. You have to get good at building consensus to get buy-in, and that means thinking very hard about your ideas and the value proposition to the organization as a whole, but then also to the individual stakeholders. Critical thinking and analytic skills are very important for sure, but you need some measure of emotional intelligence and soft skills to see things through. This still matters in a smaller org, but bigger companies tend to get proportionately more top-heavy, and that means more people to influence to get a big idea through. I've said this on HN before, that it's been my experience that startups and smaller companies take a dim view of big company talent. I'd challenge that, as people who have been successful in getting big things done in a big company likely had to overcome a lot to do it, and that's a set of skills you want as you start to grow and scale. With all of that said, I'm leaving my management post with a BigCo at the end of this month to join an established startup, hopefully to help them scale the sorts of processes that I'm good at - and is probably at best a lateral in terms of my current level. I've always wanted to try it, and I figure in my mid 30's it's now or never, and somehow I've convinced my family that we should go 2500 miles west to the Bay Area to do it. This isn't to say one is better than the other, but I'm absolutely certain that the variety of experience will make me a better leader going forward. Some of the best advice I ever heard (from a former CFO and current board member of a BigCo), which I will pass on here, is to take advantage of opportunities that will broaden your horizons and make you an overall better leader - even if that opportunity might not have the same "prestige" in its level, job title or brand recognition. There's a lot of competition as we progress in our careers, and sometimes being that person who has "done that" versus some vague exposure in a prior management rotation, will get you ahead. Try on a few different hats, see what fits.