i have worked for a start-up and feel like I was taken advantage of. However, if I could extract a reasonable paycheck I would love to work at one for ~6 months

i have worked for a start-up and feel like I was taken advantage of. However, if I could extract a reasonable paycheck I would love to work at one for ~6 months (if it was a decent opportunity) because you learn so much that if I could survive on the paycheck, the learning experience would be worth it as a first job. You also work on multiple projects so you have a few deliverables to point to on exit. Instead of saying, me and 5 people made a trivial change to some widget you get to actually contribute a lot more because there is a low power distance between supervisors, and a lot more work to go around with many less people to do it.