My own experience is that there’s a sweet spot. Big tech companies only really offer high compensation for the most experienced and capable employees. If there’s 10 levels and you’re not at least at level 8, a big company is probably not, in my own informal analysis, like to offer you the best compensation in expectation. Some of this is simply because these folks have high opportunity costs, and the only way to get them as employees is to pay them enough that it balances off against what they would likely do instead: start a company.
If you’re in the middle say 4-7, then a large, succeeding startup is probably the best bet. It offers better pay, more room for advancement and promotion, and decent equity.
If you’re at the bottom, especially say because you’re new to work, then early stage startups can provide really great returns in expectation. This works a couple ways. You won’t make a lot of cash compensation, but you’ll earn a lot of equity in expectation, possibly more than $10mm a year if the startup becomes a unicorn. Beyond that, you’ll gain a lot of career capital by getting to do a bit of everything and having to operate fairly independently in ways that you won’t get to do in a larger company, which means you’ll be able to level up faster than you would in a more established place if you apply yourself.
This is all assuming you’re best fit to be an employee rather than an entrepreneur, of course.
My own experience is that there’s a sweet spot. Big tech companies only really offer high compensation for the most experienced and capable employees. If there’s 10 levels and you’re not at least at level 8, a big company is probably not, in my own informal analysis, like to offer you the best compensation in expectation. Some of this is simply because these folks have high opportunity costs, and the only way to get them as employees is to pay them enough that it balances off against what they would likely do instead: start a company.
If you’re in the middle say 4-7, then a large, succeeding startup is probably the best bet. It offers better pay, more room for advancement and promotion, and decent equity.
If you’re at the bottom, especially say because you’re new to work, then early stage startups can provide really great returns in expectation. This works a couple ways. You won’t make a lot of cash compensation, but you’ll earn a lot of equity in expectation, possibly more than $10mm a year if the startup becomes a unicorn. Beyond that, you’ll gain a lot of career capital by getting to do a bit of everything and having to operate fairly independently in ways that you won’t get to do in a larger company, which means you’ll be able to level up faster than you would in a more established place if you apply yourself.
This is all assuming you’re best fit to be an employee rather than an entrepreneur, of course.