One Pager Cheat Sheet

• Jake, who has personally worked at dozens of software companies, both large and small, shares helpful insight into the differences in recruiting processes, training and onboarding, work/life balance, growth, and compensation between large tech companies and startups.
• At a startup, you typically have the freedom to work on whatever you want and wear multiple hats, whereas at a larger company you develop a specialization, often feeling like a cog in the machine, but with shorter working hours.
• Working at startups has a higher risk but potential for a big return with an exit, while large companies offer more stability with lower compensation.
• Talented people and engineers exist in companies of all sizes, but mission-driven culture is more common in startups, and more bureaucracy and layers of approval in larger companies.
• Large companies typically have a greater prestige than smaller companies, but it is beneficial to gain experience in both sizes during your career.