Good luck to any typical employee having any chance of getting an exception to a standard options agreement. Options have primarily been 1 year cliff/4 year ve

Good luck to any typical employee having any chance of getting an exception to a standard options agreement. Options have primarily been 1 year cliff/4 year vest since forever, and that is unlikely to change. This is all part of the "fun" of signing on to a startup, and a big part of the reason why you often hear advice advocating to not trade salary for options, or to not be swayed by the potential future value of options in considering your job offer. Unless you are a "name brand" in your industry and being heaving recruited, you should operate under the assumption your typical options grant will end up being worth between $0 and $5000 at best.