Pros: - some startups have a really high concentration of awesome and smart people to work with - it’s exciting to work on something new with a big vision - y

Pros: - some startups have a really high concentration of awesome and smart people to work with - it’s exciting to work on something new with a big vision - you can quickly get experience building a feature (or a whole product) from concept to launch. As an engineer building a feature you can feel more ownership over more aspects of it including the business/marketing/pricing etc. - I’ve found at early stage startups it’s easier to make friends with your coworkers than a larger company. You tend to do more together, from dinners to socials, and you become a tight group. It’s especially nice for people who are from out of the area or recently graduated etc. - you can work on really cutting edge and innovative things. You might get that at a larger company on a team like Google X but it’s not guaranteed - potential for big upside if your startup does well Negatives: - you are subject to the whims of the founders. There is much less oversight over firing, demoting, and general behavior of a founder than the oversight a manager would get in a larger company. - If you’re a woman, you are likely one of the few in the engineering team. There’s often bad behavior and it’s very difficult to speak up about it without retaliation. I know multiple women who have been fired by YC founders and it’s been a tough environment for them to succeed in for multiple reasons. It’s also easy for women to end up doing a lot of office housework in addition to engineering in a startup where roles are not as well defined. I think it has gotten easier to at least have some recourse now in the era of me too - Lower compensation once you factor in public company stock, bonuses, 401ks etc. Base salary might not be too different but larger companies offer a much fuller package of compensation I could do a deeper dive on the additional factors that deter female engineers out of early stage startups but that would be a topic of its own!