#CareerChange #StartupVsBigTech #WorkLifeBalance
Hey everyone! 👋 I’m at a crossroads in my career and could really use some advice. Has anyone ever made the leap from a big tech company to a tiny startup? Is it career suicide? Here’s my dilemma:
– Currently have 4 years of experience, 1.5 in big tech and 2 at a smaller startup
– Big tech job in AI with long hours, office politics, and terrible work-life balance
– Smaller startup just offered me a raise to come back, full remote with amazing coworkers
– Worried about the long-term stability of the startup and how it might look on my resume if they go under
I’m torn between job security and personal happiness. Anyone been in a similar situation? What did you do?
Possibly Solutions:
– Networking and connecting with people in your desired industry to explore future opportunities
– Create a solid, data-driven plan to weigh the pros and cons of each job offer
– Listen to your gut and choose the option that aligns with your values and long-term goals
Looking forward to hearing your experiences and advice! 🌟 #CareerAdvice #JobChange #DecisionMaking
It all depends on what you want.
I just left a fortune company to a smaller Company and so far love it. Higher pay, everyone knows everyone and culture is great!
>my resume will look like I tried a big tech job, couldn’t, and quit
1.5 years is around the average [tenure](https://customers.ai/articles/employee-tenure-in-tech-companies) at a big tech company; nothing to worry about
People bounce around tech companies all the time. Look up the term boomerang. Lots of tech guys chase tech hype after tech hype.
It’s not a big deal. Keep the tech stack skills and tech interview skills sharp, then you can bounce back from any scenarios.
Why did you leave the startup in the first place? Was it just that they were broke and now they have funding, or other factors?
The average tenure at a big tech job is less than 2 years. Just don’t be like me with an employment gap.
Yeah, nang did
You have to figure out what you want in life. If your goal is to work in start ups or small to midsize tech companies, then no, bouncing back to the start up likely won’t matter. If you want to be in big tech, but you’re just going back to your start up because it’s an easy out, yeah, going to the start up will probably affect your future prospects a bit. I don’t think it’s career suicide, but you’re going to get more opportunities as a current big tech employee than a former one, especially if you only have a few years experience.
Kind of tangentially, but I was an early employee at a small start up where the CTO left big tech to join the company. He graduated college, did about 18 months at one of the FAANGs and then joined the start up. After a few years he went from CTO to CEO after the founder was forced out and has since lead the company to a billion dollar valuation. So, even if it’s incredibly unlikely, it is possible for the start up route to work out very, very well if you work hard and get super lucky. Start ups are high risk, high reward. Big tech is a much more predictable path to wealth.
Love your coworkers like best friends, better WLB, 10k above current. How is this even a question? I’d do it just for the friendship
Follow your heart/instinct
LOL people saying this is suicide wtf. To be honest it doesn’t really matter. Your experience matters. If you have key skills you can always get an interview.
WLB job. I’m old.. if you have an opportunity to have peace and pay bills, take it.
They are very different jobs where very different people would likely succeed in one and not the other. I personally am the startup type and I have friends who thrive in big tech. We envy aspects of each others’ jobs, but would rather stay in ours – and that’s perfectly fine.
Yeah, AMZN sucks. You need to leave.
Nothing wrong with it. If you’re good at the job and keep your resume and career up to date you’ll be fine. I, too, would love to go back to the job with my good friends but the pay was shit, the leadership was worse, and growth stalled. So focus on that stuff and you’ll be fine.
I did! It’s less money, but I enjoy my day to day experience so much more. I also enjoy having flexibility about what I’m working on.
I see people leave big tech for small start ups all the time.
Is it career suicide? No, if you can pass the interview once you can probably pass it again.
Is it a waste of time? Yes, none of my friends/coworkers who left for a start up ended up well of from the decision. People sadly over-value pre IPO RSUs and options. They also over inflate the chance a company will ever exit.
How’s the tc
It honestly depends. Some companies are going to look at that and be worried about you job hopping after investing in you. Most probably won’t care. I left my last company in just under a year because the work/life balance was complete garbage and still landed something nice. If it becomes a pattern on your resume it might matter more depending on the company.
know some folks who drastically downgraded pay for better WLB. how can you enjoy extra money if you can’t enjoy your life?
the only argument for it is you suffer for a short time for the money boost, so you can work less later on. for most people, 1-2 years is the short time.
What one thing I don’t see people talking about are the potential benefits of returning to big tech from a startup. There’s title inflation and many opportunities for promotions at startups, I’ve seen quite a few people leverage this after a couple of years into better job opportunities. I’ve also seen people return to the same big tech company they left, but of course they first left under good standing.
As someone who left a FAANG job for a small startup, I have a cautionary tale about the financial implications. The financial aspect is actually the only real regret I have about leaving FAANG. My work-life balance did improve over my previous stressful FAANG job, and I’m now working in a fully-remote environment. If you care more about quality of life and non-financial aspects, perhaps don’t take my advice too seriously. 🙂
One key thing I didn’t fully grasp when I left was the value of my FAANG RSU grants versus startup stock options. RSUs at my FAANG were actual shares that vested over time, which I could sell immediately for cash or exchange for safer investments like ETFs. In contrast, equity at a startup is generally much less valuable and often worth nothing. Here’s why:
– Founders at startups tend to be conservative with equity distribution. If you do receive a substantial amount of equity, it’s likely because it will be worthless for a long time (more on this below).
– Startups usually offer stock options instead of RSUs. While options are better for taxes since taxation is deferred until exercise, you still need to spend your own cash to exercise them and convert them into stock. In most cases, you can only exercise your options while employed at the company. This means that if you leave, you might need to decide quickly whether you believe in the company’s future and potentially write a significant check without knowing if the stock will ever be valuable (more on this below, keep reading!).
– Startup stock is worth nothing unless the company gets acquired, goes public, or offers a liquidity event through buybacks or a secondary marketplace. If you join a startup in its early stages (seed, Series A, or Series B), it’s unlikely you’ll see any of these events soon. It could take a decade or might never happen. Essentially, your only reliable, actual compensation at a startup is your salary.
At my FAANG job, I received stock refreshers annually and upon promotion cycles, which compounded and increased my total compensation over time. Now, at the startup, I get a standard 4-6% salary increase each year. The founders won’t give out more, no matter my performance, as they need to preserve cash to ensure the company has enough runway. While I do continue to receive stock awards, they are worthless without a way to convert them into cash. Meanwhile, my former colleagues who stayed at FAANG are growing their portfolios, benefiting from the stock’s growth. In hindsight, the increase in my cash salary when I jumped ship for the startup doesn’t compensate for the stock appreciation I’m missing out on from FAANG. This realization has made me see that, overall, my decision to leave FAANG was financially detrimental.
Of course, some people do get lucky and become millionaires overnight when their startup gets acquired. However, for the majority, if you value a stable and predictable financial growth trajectory, remaining at a FAANG (or switching to another FAANG) is the far safer bet.
Don’t assume that just because your first startup job had good work life balance that your next one will be the same. Most of them like to work you to the bone in an effort to reach IPO or get bought by big tech.
I left Wall Street fin tech for the mountains and you’ll be fine. If the worst thing is that you’ll have several wonderful years with people you’d love to work with again at another firm it’s a giant win. I’m in my grey beard phase and I’ve always worked with people or been referred from people who I’ve helped scale a firm 20x.
>Which is probably a big red flag to employers? Idk.
Those employers would jump to steal someone away from big tech. It would illogical to believe it’s a red flag to leave a tech company, especially when you were offered more money for less hours.
I think you are definitely overthinking this. Just take the option where you make more money and work less. No one will care. Just make sure you save for the future and lower your expenses so if the company does go under, you have a really nice cushion.
“I was excited about the product.”
“I was offered the opportunity to make a bigger impact.”
“I enjoy the fast pace of startup life.”
All perfectly valid reasons to go from big tech to startup. All have nothing to do with whether you were successful in big tech.