I think of pre-IPO options as worth just more than zero. (I'd rather have them than not have them, but not by enough to give up significant salary). The possib

I think of pre-IPO options as worth just more than zero. (I'd rather have them than not have them, but not by enough to give up significant salary). The possibility of dilution in most option agreements, combined with the time until vesting and the possibility of the company failing, means that it's impossible to put a solid floor under their value. I've made 5 figures from pre-IPO stock options twice. Nice, but hardly worth taking a pay cut for. Options in already-public companies are quite a bit less risky. I consider employee stock grants in a healthy public company to be worth about 75% of the current value of the stock. (The discount is because of the vesting period. If I change jobs, I lose some of the stock. If I stay at the job just to get the stock, when there's a better opportunity elsewhere, I lose that opportunity.)