

Ask HN: Career help/advice - vasek

I realize that everyone makes their own decisions and it's difficult to compare, without knowing details, but I can't think of a better place to ask for advice.<p>I am 35 and have been doing IT/Ops(devops)/Security for close to 20 years. I've done management (small teams), but I am much better (and comfortable) with hands on and dealing directly with technology/design. I now have a choice of two companies:<p>A - a larger company, ~1000 people. Grew rapidly over the last year(maybe too much), since they got bought out. The culture is very much "startup-like". Biggest in their market with 10s of millions of users. Relatively well known, even to someone who is not using their product and googling will quickly let people find out. Offering the most money and want me in a technical/strategic role (non-manager, at least at first). There are some very interesting problems to solve (scale &#38; complexity) and they have a lot of brilliant people, which is a huge attraction. The downside is really being a medium fish in a big pond and the impact that I'll be able to make there is probably more limited.<p>B - is a small (profitable) startup, probably &#60;50 people. They are growing, but at best they are 3-4th in the market, behind a few 800lb gorillas. The role is still very much hands-on technical, but leading a team in addition to that. I can write in whatever fancy title I want. The problems they want to solve are interesting, but much more narrow in scope. The compensation model is heavy on bonuses/incentives/revenue goals and upside is potentially higher. Name recognition isn't quite as high, though people do know them.<p>So, it's a two-part question:<p>1. Career-wise, is it better to be in a smaller company with a big title or a larger company with a less impressive one? 
2. Most of my time has been spent in smaller shops, where I am usually the most experienced/expert guy. How is it working for a large company with a lot of talented people?
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codegeek
Like you said, it is not easy to give a generic "one size fits all" kind of
answer. But I will give you a few specific things to think about based on what
you said.

1\. I would say choose the company that fits what _you_ want/need especially
at this point in your career when you are 35+ with 20 years of experience. Put
yourself first. Now you are saying that you are much bette at hands on. Then
choose the company which provides you that option. I am guessing the company B
in your scenario. Of course there is an element of risk involved in a startup
but then again, no risk no reward. You don't want to be miserable in a job at
35 which you don't like.

2\. The other side to it is that in a large company, you will definitely have
the opportunity to meet a lot more people (talented and otherwise:) and
perhaps build a great network. How much do you care about that at this point
in your career ? You have worked for 20 years and I assume you have a good
network already. Yes u can always do more but may be thats not as critical at
this point.

Hope this helps and gives you some perspective.

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caw
Codegeek's answer is very good. I think the career goals is probably the first
thing you want to look at. There's also some advise I've heard about working
in IT where IT is a resource and not a cost center. It's very true.

I can say definitely that the large company will have more bureaucracy, which
will on more than one occasion drive you crazy. Like you said though, they
have the scale and complexity for interesting problems. They also have the
budget to fund IT.

Regarding the part about being the most experienced. I don't think that
matters, so long as you're still learning. If you're willing to learn from
less experienced/less senior people, and they're willing to speak up about
what they know, then it doesn't really matter.

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calbear98
Do what makes you happy. If you enjoy what you do and the company is good, you
can excel and make an impact. Having good people to work with is so important
so weigh that heavily.

A couple of my previous jobs/companies were very similar to those two
scenarios. It was actually at the bigger company that I made more of an
impact, had more flexibility, learned more, made professional connections, and
made more in salary/bonus/stock.

It's much more a function of whether the organization is a winning, efficient,
organized, functional team than the size. Large companies always have
bureaucracy but small ones can too.

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stesteau
it depends :D

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vasek
The classic response. :)

