Burnout can take many forms and you need to identify what it is you are exactly burned out on. Is it the environment, the lack of recognition, the colleagues,

Burnout can take many forms and you need to identify what it is you are exactly burned out on. Is it the environment, the lack of recognition, the colleagues, lack of challenge, or it may just be simply you are actually needing a break. If it is the last one, going to a startup isn't going to change things. That said, not all startups are the 7-day a week, sleep under your desk slog. But, there are ones that are -- sometimes it is because you are all young, trying to run, and want to do so; other times it can be for reasons as you experienced -- poor management and poor planning. I've experienced both, and walked away from the latter when I realized it was the best thing for me. If you are in an area with a diverse startup ecosystem, get out there and talk to people. Identify companies that might be interesting for you, network a bit, and see if you can engage the people in a conversation about their companies in a social (rather than interview) environment. Try and find out what the environment is like, how management treats the individual contributors, etc. That said, startups will generally take more time and may be more challenging than a larger company. If, however, you are working with people you like and on something you enjoy, it may not be as noticeable. All the same, as others have mentioned, there are startups out there where people do have life/work balances. For instance, Treehouse was mentioned last month -- http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3883268 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3883268 Take the time to identify what you want and the type of people you want to work with, do some leg work, and see how it goes. Good luck.