If you don't want to work for a startup, then don't. Many people find value in the experience whether we got paid or not. I'd rather work my ass off for a star

If you don't want to work for a startup, then don't. Many people find value in the experience whether we got paid or not. I'd rather work my ass off for a startup than spend money on an MBA. I've been a part of five startups. One of them (and the financial collapse) resulted in ruining me financially in 2009, but it was my choice. No one told me to take the job. Three were mine (two failed, one is in hypothesis mode). The other was with a millionaire and it also failed. I learned to look at things differently because of all of those experiences and my value as a consultant today is because of those experiences. I know you can get screwed over by sketchy founders and unscrupulous venture capitalists. You should absolutely understand where you stand going in. Stock options are 100% worthless unless you have a startup that succeeds and you have a founder that is honest in their intentions. Even real equity can be diluted, so that's no guarantee. But there are always cases where the first few hundred employees make a life's worth of wealth in a few years. I hate these articles bitching about the startup world. If you're gonna bitch, maybe go take a job at a nice safe boring mega-corporation that will maybe just destroy your soul. You'll get paid on time and you'll work 40hr weeks, have PTO, health benefits. If that's what you want, then just go do that.