Should you take a job in a startup or a big tech
company? In today's video, I'm going to be talking
to you about startup versus big company life. If
you're trying to decide if a startup versus big
tech is right for you tap that like button. And
let's jump straight into it.
So you have to start before you actually get in
the door. And that is with hiring when you're
interviewing with a big tech company, they are
going to have a more structured process. This
isn't to say that it's going to be exceptionally
formal suit and tie because let's face it, even in
big tech, there probably isn't going to be a suit
and tie involved in your interview. But big tech
companies have very established interviewing and
hiring procedures, you were going to meet with a
specific number of people in specific roles at
specific levels. And they are trained interviewers
who are going to be asking you more specific
questions which you need to actually answer in a
more particular way. Now all of this is completely
exposed by a startup. Now, while startup hiring
processes can completely run the gamut, they tend
to be fast, and they tend to have less structure.
And if big tech interviews didn't already skewed
to be informal, enough, tech startups tend to be
very informal, I have actually had a hiring
manager refuse to proceed with the candidate
because he showed up in a suit and tie also in a
start up, they're not going to have the rigorous
hiring process. So they might have steps that
they're following, but it's not necessarily going
to be as flushed out. I've also had several
clients that have interviewed at startups where
they have just invented processes along the way to
help them make their decision. So some startups it
can be a little bit chaotic. But as that startup
gets bigger and bigger, it is going to be a little
bit more process eyes and a little bit more
predictable. But there's something that you want
to know before you sign the dotted line, way more
than that you want to know about the money. And
that leads us into our next difference between
tech startup versus big company. And that is
compensation. The big tech companies like Google,
Facebook, Amazon, and Salesforce are all competing
for top talent. And one of the main ways that they
are actually competing in order to get the best
people working on their teams is to be offering a
above market compensation. That means my friends
above market salaries because the big tech
companies generally have levels that they are
going to be offering you a job at there might be
an actual ceiling in terms of salary compensation
that they can offer, I have worked with a couple
of clients who have hit that. So it is something
for you to be aware of in the negotiation. And
also in terms of considering if that offer is
going to be right for you. startups, on the other
hand, can pay just as well. Or they can pay
terribly. In my experience tech startup
compensation really does run the gamut in terms of
having above market salaries to like really,
really low. But with really high equity.
Generally, there is going to be some level of
calibration. And this is going to be influenced by
things like the stage of the tech startup, what
your actual role is, what level you're coming in
at. And all of that kind of thing. I will be
talking more about startup compensation and
startup salaries in a video coming out soon. So if
you haven't already, make sure to subscribe,
because if you are leaning startup, you are not
going to want to miss that video. Now that we've
talked about the considerations that happen before
you get in the door. The really important ones are
obviously once you actually get hired at either a
startup or a big tech company. Now we need to talk
about the difference between a big company versus
startup, we actually get into the door. So let's
begin with onboarding. When you start your job at
a big tech company, you are walking into a well
oiled machine, they have a set orientation
process, they have training, you'll probably have
a peer mentor, they have literally on boarded 10s
of thousands of people into their company. And
they know exactly how to do it efficiently. And
effectively. They have entire teams that are
dedicated to this process. So your onboarding with
a big tech company is going to be fairly easy and
pretty guided in a start up. On the other hand,
you're here start working, I'm kind of kidding
here. Again, this is something that is totally
being generalized, because this is going to be
influenced once again by the stage and the
maturity of the startup. But especially if you're
coming into an early stage company, there is not
going to be probably any process. And you're going
to need to figure out how to get yourself on
boarded. Whereas out of Biggers tech startup, they
may actually have onboarding in place. So it can
really again run the gamut. And the important
thing for you to do is to consider the size of the
company. And it might be even something that you
ask about in an interview. But I generally find
that in total, a startup gets to a stage where
they actually have a team that is dedicated to
onboarding or at least a person that is dedicated
to onboarding. It tends to skew much more to trial
by fire, versus a guided handholding structured
onboarding process, like what you would find at a
big tech company. And this actually brings me
directly to my next difference between a startup
versus big company and this is one of the biggest
ones your actual role and responsibilities when
you are Working at a big tech company, you know
exactly what you need to do, your role is very
well defined, you don't need to go outside of the
lines frequently, if at all, and all of the roles
and all of the levels are completely laid out. The
exception would be if you're on a newer, more
intrapreneurial team. But for the most part, when
you are working at a big tech company, that
definition is going to mean that you get to focus
just on doing your actual job. But if you're at a
start up, you're generally going to be wearing
several hats, if not all of the hats, sometimes at
the same time and their earlier stage. And the
less people that are actually at the startup, the
more dynamic your role is probably going to be.
This means that if you choose the startup life,
you might actually get experience that you
wouldn't get until you were in a senior level
role, or even a leadership role. Because of the
dynamics of a startup, which I find especially
early in your career can be very interesting, and
can help you carve your own unique path. But on
the flip side of that, you might find yourself
cleaning a bathroom because the startup doesn't
have the budget in order to hire a cleaner quite
yet. True story, it happened to someone that I
know. So you know, upside downside of things. And
stemming from this next difference between a
startup and a big company, as let's just call it
what it is. bureaucracy, big tech companies
generally are going to have more structure than a
startup. And there's a perfectly good reason for
it, they need to be able to function without
everyone stepping all over each other's toes
doubling or tripling or quadrupling effort, what
I'm saying is it would be absolute chaos, if they
didn't have some level of bureaucracy. And even if
the organization still operates fairly flat, you
are going to find that there is going to be
hierarchies because you have different levels in
the role, you have different levels of leadership
Plus, they figured out what actually works, and
we're going to replicate it. So not only are their
processes going to be designed for you to be more
efficient, they're also going to be designed for
you to be more effective. However, on the flip
side of this, this also comes with some other
elements such as potential increases in office
politics, hierarchies, and obstacles to getting
things done. Especially when you're trying to get
something done that requires approval of someone
that is five pay grades higher than you are on the
corporate food chain. startups, on the other hand,
tend to be the opposite of bureaucratic I think
it's kind of the whole like startup life, the
culture, kind of this scrappy, hacker identity,
and partially because the structures aren't there
and the hierarchies and there but also just
because of the function and the startup culture,
in general, often you're going to find low
resistance to get things done. not always true, I
can tell you that from personal experience, but it
is something that you would generally be able to
expect at a startup versus a big tech company. But
with a decrease in barriers, there always comes a
trade off. Which brings me to my next difference
between a startup and a big tech company, career
growth path, Ai, big tech companies, these are
pretty much going to be laid out for you. Because
each role in a big tech company generally is going
to be on a ladder, you're going to know exactly
what you need to do. In order to climb that
corporate ladder, having it laid out and generally
pretty transparent is going to make your life and
your career growth journey a lot easier. Plus,
when you're at a big tech company, you're going to
get access to resources, like training, that are
going to help you ascend the ranks that you want
to ascend. And while when you look in the big tech
companies, I know people that have ascended those
ranks really, really quickly. Most people actually
progress their careers in a big tech company at a
fairly steady pace. This is completely exposed by
startup life. And while it's true that you might
find yourself on a rocket ship, and your career
might end up growing really, really quickly, just
because you were in the right place at the right
time, that isn't necessarily the experience that
everyone has. I've spoken to many startup
employees that thought that they were just going
to get into the company early, and that they were
just going to skyrocket, but they ended up getting
stuck on the ground floor. So while in general, it
is going to be easier for you to grow in a growing
company. This isn't always necessarily the case.
And I think one of the reasons for this is because
startups also tend to lack professional
development infrastructure. So you're not going to
have the same access to training and necessarily
resources. Now, if you do choose startup life as
the life that is for you, there are obviously
workarounds towards this, you're just going to
need to roll up your sleeves and do a little bit
of this on your own. For example, you can sign up
and attend my latest workshop that is going to
help you define your UAQ, which is going to be
something that helps us skyrocket your career
along with your company. And this actually leads
me to my next difference between a big tech
company and a startup. And that is stability. And
this is obviously something that can be pretty
important in your career, especially when the
economy is doing what it's doing right now. In big
tech, you're generally going to have better job
stability as compared to a startup for example.
One of the reasons is they have enormous amounts
of cash in the bank. They're not worried about
getting their next round of funding in order to
sustain payroll, they also have processes to make
sure that if they invite you to join your team,
that you're really the best person for their team.
And they're giving you the tools that you need in
order to be successful, plus their businesses more
stable, which means that they need to do a lot
less big pivoting, which can create a lot of
disruption in terms of teams in a startup
environment. And also in terms of stability, I
would be remiss if I didn't mention this one,
because this is something that I think people
really don't think of working in a big tech
company is going to get recruiters sliding into
your DM's. And this is going to mean that your
career has more stability, because even if you
decide that big tech company isn't for you, you
are going to have a steady stream of incoming
opportunities, which you can choose from. And if
you are proactively applying for jobs, having a
company like Google or Salesforce is going to
swing some doors open for you. And obviously, this
is one of the biggest differences between a tech
startup and a big company whereas startups
generally have less stability. Not only are their
products less established, their product market
fit isn't quite established yet. They also are
generally going to be reliant on money from
investors, versus just having a pile of money that
they're sitting on like a big tech company, the
path to success for a startup is a very winding
road and a ton of them actually don't make it does
it mean that working for a startup is a terrible
idea? No. I personally love working for startups.
And if I had to go back to corporate, I would
choose a startup myself, but depending on where
you are in your career, this is something that you
might want to consider. And that actually leads me
to a question based on everything that we have
been talking about over the past couple of
minutes. Which one are you leaning towards startup
life or big tech no matter which size of company
you have decided is right for you. If you are new
to the tech industry, your next step is going to
be getting a job in tech. If you are trying to get
a job in tech with no experience go and check out
this video right now where I tell you exactly how
to do it. If this video was helpful, give it a
thumbs up consider subscribing because I have more
videos about working in tech coming out. As
always, thank you so much for watching. I will see
you in the next video. Bye for now.