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So, I work at a startup. But, to echo what literally everyone else has said: The money is better at big companies. There are exceptions, but you almost certai
by akavi 8y ago
So, I work at a startup. But, to echo what literally everyone else has said:
The money is better at big companies.
There are exceptions, but you almost certainly won't work for one of them. You will make more money at Google or Facebook or Netflix than you will at all but the luckiest choice of startup. Note I didn't say "best" choice or "most successful" choice. Gotta get in small, and exit big, which, no matter what anybody tells you, is more luck than skill.
That said, why do I work at a startup? Because the feeling of being able to meaningfully affect its trajectory (both technically and in terms of product) just matters to me. You can't get that at a big company, and for me that more than makes up for the ~50-75 k$/yr I gave up for it.
But I'm in the extremely fortunate position of having very frugal tastes, a significant fallback fund (I could afford to not work and maintain my current lifestyle for several years), and no dependents. Beyond the raw dollar amount, this also means that I'm basically indifferent to the prospect of losing my job, which as the other comments point out, is the other significant drawback of startups.
It's unclear to me that the combination of intangibles and tangibles works out positively for many other people, and I kind of feel that to a first approximation, recommending against being an employee at a start up is the right advice.
- ddebernardy 8y agoYour worldview will change when you've dependents. :-)
- spenczar5 8y agoGP said "I kind of feel that to a first approximation, recommending against being an employee at a start up is the right advice." Are you saying you think startups are better for people with dependents? That's surprising to me, could you elaborate?
- ddebernardy 8y agoNo, it was a response to OP writing he had no dependents so doesn't value job/income stability so much. He seems quite lucid about the fact that this might change the moment he'll have a dependents. I was merely confirming it will. :-)
- ryanobjc 8y agoWhat if you were giving up $100-150k a year? Would that move your needle? Or what if you were actually giving up $200k a year? Yes, money isn't everything, but that's no reason to let someone take advantage of your excitement. I am seeing a lot of people doing the devils work here, depressing engineering wages with arguments against higher pay. The VCs dont need your help, why are you helping them?
- orangecat 8y agoI strongly agree with all of this. I made the same decisions that you did, and while it worked out well (we rolled between 90 and 95 on https://danluu.com/startup-tradeoffs/ https://danluu.com/startup-tradeoffs/), it was clearly a negative EV play. I wouldn't have done it if I didn't have a solid record at an established company (so that I could easily return to a similar job at any point), or if the income reduction would have had a material impact (which basically implies no kids and no plans to have any in the next few years, no mortgage or student loans, and no health issues). I kind of feel that to a first approximation, recommending against being an employee at a start up is the right advice. Absolutely.