Yeah, but then you aren't getting a below-market wage anymore, either. That's the thing about big companies... it doesn't matter if you are willing to work for

Yeah, but then you aren't getting a below-market wage anymore, either. That's the thing about big companies... it doesn't matter if you are willing to work for less; they've got a budget and will hire the best person they can get for that budget. If you don't have the experience, and are willing to get paid less than what the job-role would normally pay to get the job? yeah, that's a pretty effective way to get experience, learn the job, and then switch companies and get paid full-rate for the job role a few years later. and yeah, you will probably need to do that at a small company (startup or otherwise) where the fact that you are willing to do the job role for half what someone with experience will want matters. But yeah, I wouldn't really say you are working for below-market wages, 'cause you are presumably getting a reasonable wage for your level of experience (even if it's a low wage for the job role.)