Startups or Big Corps?
Some people like to be a small fish in a big tank, working for big companies, with processes, politics, predictable career ladder, without drastic changes.
Others like to be a big fish in a small tank, helping to create companies, tanking more risks and rewards, where everything is to make, and things can change drastically in a few days.
Try to spot your appetite for risk, if you were happy working for a company take note of the size of the company, same if you noticed demotivated, assess what caused it and take notes about the company moment.
Already saw people being fired from series C startups due to cuts, and never want to work for a startup anymore. Also saw others from startups being demotivated and having burnout working for post-IPO companies.
How well do you deal with rules and authority?
If you are someone that never crossed the street during the red light, were good at obeying parents, and when having a great idea usually think “I don’t know if I’m allowed to do this” probably you have more chance of succeeding in big corps.
If you don’t like the authority you have more changes working for a startup. Startups need courage and innovation, your willingness to do what you want to do should be bigger than discovering if someone allows you to do it.
In a big company if you go against your boss or if you do things that you aren’t supposed to do, you can get into big trouble.
In a startup, the value and the customer decide everything. If what you made was against what your leader said but created value and customers loved, you are safe.
How much do you like office politics?
In bigger companies, you will be surrounded by many people, there are many things you need permission and consensus from many people to do. So if you know how to talk pretty as a politician, and create good alliances you can have a bigger impact.
In smaller companies the “talk is cheap, show me the code” works better, you will be near to the founders and the customer, and the product running is what matters the most.
How much do you like changes?
Corporates are like ships, startups are like jet skis. A jet ski is much easier to maneuver.
Big companies don’t get big overnight, usually, they grow over many years and this creates inertia. People get used to what they were always doing, so changing and innovation become difficult. The legacy in systems and code give a disadvantage to corporates, they can not re-write 5, or 10 years of code.
In startups things can change drastically in a few days, many startups pivot the main idea, you can start in one market and end up in another market. The brand new code can use top-notch tech.
