It depends on if you are optimizing for money, work-life balance, interest, impact etc. If you want the money... you can't beat the highly profitable big-tech

It depends on if you are optimizing for money, work-life balance, interest, impact etc. If you want the money... you can't beat the highly profitable big-tech companies. If you want small teams, deep ownership of the projects you work on, and like being invested in your product/company you might enjoy a start up more. (also this isn't a dig at big companies, it's just way harder to match the start-up/small co. experience)