Yeah, I think we're pretty much on the same page. I think we both agree that established startups probably provide the best balance between risk and reward, but

Yeah, I think we're pretty much on the same page. I think we both agree that established startups probably provide the best balance between risk and reward, but I'm less optimistic about the potential reward, especially for an engineer. I joined the company I currently work for about a year after they raised a series C round. Most importantly, I get a pretty competitive base salary, but I also have some stock options. Even in the best case scenarios I think I'm looking at new car money, not mid-six figures. From talking with other coworkers, joining shortly after the series B round would have increased my options by roughly a factor of 3, in which case that "new car money" becomes "down payment on a house" money. Which is great, I'm not complaining at all, but it's not enough such that anyone post-series B that I know will be making a few hundred thousand per year.