Ask HN: Career choice: Boutique consultancy or Big 5

[dev_throw]

Hi all,

Context: Around 6 months of high intensity (deadline oriented) work at a up and coming consultancy, but haven't learnt a lot technically. A lot of time spent working on technical debt in a bloated frontend framework. Also, salary is on the low side (<$80k) for SF. [Edit: really low salary, but there's promises of frequent promotions and raises: ~$8-10k p.a.)

Should I look to move to one of the Big 5? Are the learning opportunities there any better, or is it more of the same work?

I am capable of putting hard work, and have the energy to learn new technologies outside my work. Alternatively, is a high potential startup a better choice, since I am young-ish (26)?

[GFK_of_xmaspast]

That salary is well below "on the low side for SF".

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To clarify, I am a new grad dev, and while that is well below the average, there are promises by the company about fast and frequent salary increases.