Thanks for your post. I’ve worked at big and small tech. One thing you didn’t talk about is breadth vs depth of responsibilities. At a startup, resources are scarce and you will need to be doing lots of things. You’ll learn a little bit about a lot. And you’ll have a lot more flexibility to try things out (eg- get in front of customers, try devops, etc). At big tech, things are generally more rigid. You are hired to do a job and you generally don’t get a chance to try things outside of your title without changing roles officially. On the other hand, you have more opportunities to get deep expertise.
I tried to cover that a bit in "skill development" but I like your comment better. Thank your sharing more about breadth vs depth differences here Andrew
Hi Ryan! I've read a lot of your articles and really appreciate your insight across a wide variety of topics 🙏
But to be honest, this article wasn't very surprising. I was expecting something a bit more contentious, though this article is pretty straightforward. I think some questions I have regarding startups vs. big tech are:
1) If you are working in a startup, how should you select which one to work at? What factors should you weigh? (runway, talent density, etc)
2) How should you evaluate whether to exercise your equity purchases at a startup?
3) What things should you be mindful of, if choosing to work at a startup, and eventually wanting to transition to big tech? In terms of career progression.
I would love if you could speak to any of these or point me in the right direction. I recently completed around 10 startup loops and have been trying to figure these questions out. I haven't applied to big tech because I feel I won't get screened for it at the moment, and with the current state of hiring I assume many other candidates are also looking more towards startups.
Aside from those factors there are of course the common things like your manager, the work, and your peers
> How should you evaluate whether to exercise your equity purchases at a startup?
It depends on how much you believe in the company's future and the cost to exercise. Impossible to predict the future, options are similar to gambling but you can get a sense of risk based on the stage of the company
> What things should you be mindful of, if choosing to work at a startup, and eventually wanting to transition to big tech? In terms of career progression.
If you can do larger scope work fitting of the higher big tech levels, you'll not only build valuable skills (and have more impact) but also increase your chances of getting hired into a higher level once you transition
Hi Ryan, this newsletter is best. I am working in startup but I want to work in big tech and I think there is one more point you missed that is work life balance which is good in big tech.
Yes that is a good point. Work life balance is generally better in big tech.
I always felt like working long hours was optional (I wanted to). My peers at startups tell me their baseline expectation is to work more than 40 hours a week.
Thanks for the great post. I think a lot of the points you talk make sense. One question I have is what are your thoughts on Pre-IPO startups/scale-ups (ie Decacorns/hot unicorns) like Rippling, Notion and Anduril? The comp is comparable to FAANG. In terms of career growth, you're more likely to hit senior leadership slightly faster due to headcount growth. Finally, you get structured learning from peers and get to be actively involved in the scale-up phase of these companies.
While they're not as prestigious as Meta (or FAANG) today, they're likely to be the household brands of tomorrow.
I'm curious if you'd recommend a new grad to join a scale-up or a big tech?
Thanks for the great article! It’s really helpful to see the comparison between big tech and startups.
I’m a computer science student focusing on front-end development. I’ve built an e-commerce app and a collaboration platform on my own. Is it possible to find a remote part-time role at a big tech company as a front-end developer, even if I haven’t graduated yet and don’t have professional experience? If so, how should I go about finding and securing such opportunities?
I wonder if the same holds true for career changers? The barrier to entry at Big Tech for a career changer might be higher, and the environment at a startup might be more welcoming to people with diverse experience (especially if it's industry-related). I also think there's a risk for career-changers of not knowing exactly where a career in software will go (e.g. what to focus on). A startup is a great place to get a little experience with all parts of the tech stack, which might help when making a decision about which jobs to apply for. I'd imagine at big tech that the focus could be very narrow depending on what team you are assigned to?
I admittedly don't have 'big tech' on my resume, but before my first job as a developer I got invaluable open-source experience contributing to the devtools of Mozilla Firefox. I don't think Mozilla has the same level of support for this that they did 5+ years ago, but at the time it was an incredible chance to work with and have my code reviewed by Mozilla engineers, and learn more about industry processes. Putting this on my resume also helped I think in the same way you mention a Big-Tech job might benefit.
Also - given the recent trend of layoffs at Big Tech, I'm not so sure that the work environment would be great if you're at the lowest end of the totem pole (last in, first out?). During my initial job search, I was in the final round for an apprenticeship at Twitter. At the time I was very deflated at not getting an offer and felt I missed a precious opportunity to add a 'brand name' to my resume as you suggest. But ultimately I think landing at a startup was great for my technical development and I learned an incredible amount - IDK what it would have been like at Twitter but given the trajectory of the company I can't help but feel maybe I dodged a bullet.
Yes, startups can give you more breadth of experience. You'd never really get a chance to learn the full stack in big tech since many pieces are handled for you so you can be more productive in your area. This can be both good and bad.
Good One. You covered major aspects at a high level which would be helpful for the one who are starting or about to start the careers. Thanks
Thanks for your post. I’ve worked at big and small tech. One thing you didn’t talk about is breadth vs depth of responsibilities. At a startup, resources are scarce and you will need to be doing lots of things. You’ll learn a little bit about a lot. And you’ll have a lot more flexibility to try things out (eg- get in front of customers, try devops, etc). At big tech, things are generally more rigid. You are hired to do a job and you generally don’t get a chance to try things outside of your title without changing roles officially. On the other hand, you have more opportunities to get deep expertise.
Both have a lot to offer. YMMV
I tried to cover that a bit in "skill development" but I like your comment better. Thank your sharing more about breadth vs depth differences here Andrew
This is so true in my experience as well. Thanks for including this.
Hi Ryan! I've read a lot of your articles and really appreciate your insight across a wide variety of topics 🙏
But to be honest, this article wasn't very surprising. I was expecting something a bit more contentious, though this article is pretty straightforward. I think some questions I have regarding startups vs. big tech are:
1) If you are working in a startup, how should you select which one to work at? What factors should you weigh? (runway, talent density, etc)
2) How should you evaluate whether to exercise your equity purchases at a startup?
3) What things should you be mindful of, if choosing to work at a startup, and eventually wanting to transition to big tech? In terms of career progression.
I would love if you could speak to any of these or point me in the right direction. I recently completed around 10 startup loops and have been trying to figure these questions out. I haven't applied to big tech because I feel I won't get screened for it at the moment, and with the current state of hiring I assume many other candidates are also looking more towards startups.
Thanks for reading Ishaan. Here's a few quick answers to your questions
> If you are working in a startup, how should you select which one to work at? What factors should you weigh? (runway, talent density, etc)
The growth of the startup matters a lot. To pick the right startup, take a look at this section "picking the right startup": https://www.developing.dev/i/125223702/picking-the-right-startup
Aside from those factors there are of course the common things like your manager, the work, and your peers
> How should you evaluate whether to exercise your equity purchases at a startup?
It depends on how much you believe in the company's future and the cost to exercise. Impossible to predict the future, options are similar to gambling but you can get a sense of risk based on the stage of the company
> What things should you be mindful of, if choosing to work at a startup, and eventually wanting to transition to big tech? In terms of career progression.
If you can do larger scope work fitting of the higher big tech levels, you'll not only build valuable skills (and have more impact) but also increase your chances of getting hired into a higher level once you transition
Thanks so much Ryan, I'm negotiating some offers today and using this as consideration!
Nice read
Hi Ryan, this newsletter is best. I am working in startup but I want to work in big tech and I think there is one more point you missed that is work life balance which is good in big tech.
Yes that is a good point. Work life balance is generally better in big tech.
I always felt like working long hours was optional (I wanted to). My peers at startups tell me their baseline expectation is to work more than 40 hours a week.
Thanks for the great post. I think a lot of the points you talk make sense. One question I have is what are your thoughts on Pre-IPO startups/scale-ups (ie Decacorns/hot unicorns) like Rippling, Notion and Anduril? The comp is comparable to FAANG. In terms of career growth, you're more likely to hit senior leadership slightly faster due to headcount growth. Finally, you get structured learning from peers and get to be actively involved in the scale-up phase of these companies.
While they're not as prestigious as Meta (or FAANG) today, they're likely to be the household brands of tomorrow.
I'm curious if you'd recommend a new grad to join a scale-up or a big tech?
Hi Ryan,
Thanks for the great article! It’s really helpful to see the comparison between big tech and startups.
I’m a computer science student focusing on front-end development. I’ve built an e-commerce app and a collaboration platform on my own. Is it possible to find a remote part-time role at a big tech company as a front-end developer, even if I haven’t graduated yet and don’t have professional experience? If so, how should I go about finding and securing such opportunities?
Appreciate any advice you can give!
I wonder if the same holds true for career changers? The barrier to entry at Big Tech for a career changer might be higher, and the environment at a startup might be more welcoming to people with diverse experience (especially if it's industry-related). I also think there's a risk for career-changers of not knowing exactly where a career in software will go (e.g. what to focus on). A startup is a great place to get a little experience with all parts of the tech stack, which might help when making a decision about which jobs to apply for. I'd imagine at big tech that the focus could be very narrow depending on what team you are assigned to?
I admittedly don't have 'big tech' on my resume, but before my first job as a developer I got invaluable open-source experience contributing to the devtools of Mozilla Firefox. I don't think Mozilla has the same level of support for this that they did 5+ years ago, but at the time it was an incredible chance to work with and have my code reviewed by Mozilla engineers, and learn more about industry processes. Putting this on my resume also helped I think in the same way you mention a Big-Tech job might benefit.
Also - given the recent trend of layoffs at Big Tech, I'm not so sure that the work environment would be great if you're at the lowest end of the totem pole (last in, first out?). During my initial job search, I was in the final round for an apprenticeship at Twitter. At the time I was very deflated at not getting an offer and felt I missed a precious opportunity to add a 'brand name' to my resume as you suggest. But ultimately I think landing at a startup was great for my technical development and I learned an incredible amount - IDK what it would have been like at Twitter but given the trajectory of the company I can't help but feel maybe I dodged a bullet.
Yes, startups can give you more breadth of experience. You'd never really get a chance to learn the full stack in big tech since many pieces are handled for you so you can be more productive in your area. This can be both good and bad.