I don't work as a programmer, but many of my friends do. A number of them worked for startups or smaller companies right out of school. Over beers I got a few

I don't work as a programmer, but many of my friends do. A number of them worked for startups or smaller companies right out of school. Over beers I got a few impressions, not sure if they're reliable as an outsider, but it seems like, yeah, best case is in the slides. Even if you're not an insta-millionaire, you make a dent in a really great product. But I saw more of the worst case: a lot of 80+ hour weeks for a kinda nutty guy who keeps trying to replace your salary with stock options that hold dubious value. His sense of vision is so strong that he doesn't listen when you offer advice (like chuck the half of the code, you fired the guy who wrote it for a reason.) I know, it's easy to say, "if you aren't 100% sure of the product's value, or it doesn't have great people, then quit..." But fresh out of school, no idea what businesses are ultimately going to succeed or fail, not a lot of experience to know what working dynamics are normal and which are incredibly sketchy... it's hard to know when to leave, or where you'd go if you did. Especially if you're looking to build a resume with experience that doesn't include 'bails at the first sign of trouble.' Maybe those are the lessons to teach new CS grads: how to evaluate your first job (since you have nothing to compare it against). Maybe quit ten jobs after a month, then keep the next job that's better than all the previous jobs? :)