Jess Lee

Posted on Jun 6, 2019

Do you prefer startup or corporate life?

#discuss

Oldest comments (38)

A bit of both. I would want startup life if I'm in a place where I could do things on my own with less supervision and be adventurous and ambitious. But I'd prefer to be in a corporate (established) ecosystem if I'm starting from scratch and would want massive peer support to grow. The latter is only because corporate lifestyle is a bit laid back and there's no you gotta run everyday pressure. So there's more stability and people have more time to help and nourish you.

P.S. I don't mean that you can't get that in a startup ecosystem. But given the records, it's more likely in corporates than startups.

Sm0ke • Jun 6 '19

Startup. The learning path is exponential.

Itachi Uchiha • Jun 6 '19

IMHO, Startup life is better than corporate life.

If you work for a company, your working hours already defined :P

You might think everything is good because everything is clear. Your managers always saying "flexible working hours". But there are no flexible vacations. I think people are who work for companies feels like "I'm a robot".

But also your salary guaranteed. You don't need to think about what if your company fail this month.

On the other hand,

If you work for startups, you have to work a lot until your startup successful. Maybe your salary isn't enough if you compare with companies.

But I'm sure you enjoy more than companies. There should be a soul in startups. You and your teammates are should be hungry for success.

End of the day, you still have questions on how we can more successful and productive.

At least, these are the thing what we learned from my friends who work for startups and companies.

These are my thoughts. Maybe all of them is wrong.

Bhupesh Varshney 👾 • Jun 7 '19

Besides that everyone can share a point of view for the success of start-up compared to corporates 🤪

Vicente G. Reyes • Jun 6 '19

I've worked with 2 startups but mostly doing sales. I think I prefer corporate first before startup just to understand what happens in the corporate world as a dev.

Ben Sinclair • Jun 6 '19

I've never worked for a startup. I've worked for small businesses (which is what they used to be called) and enjoyed the small team environment. I haven't enjoyed chasing my money and missing rent payments because of bad management.

I don't think I'd work for a startup unless I had enough money to cover a few months' rent - which is also the main reason I wouldn't be a contractor. There's stability in corporation.

In terms of lifestyle, a small team in a big company can be pretty much the same as a small team that is the company, but in terms of, I don't know, personal development maybe? it can be wildly different.

Joe Hobot • Jun 6 '19 • Edited

Depends, if corporate is still somewhat startupish in mind, then I don’t prefer either or .Otherwise I would prefer startup over corporate for many reasons one being just a badge #24214

Max Ong Zong Bao • Jun 6 '19

I prefer a startup due to the learning environment and the talented people you are surrounded with than being in a corporate environment.

It might be that I grow up in not conforming to authority figures while I was young.

Lastly being conscripted in the army burn away my love for anything related to bureaucracy & red tapes to get things done regardless of whatever the obstacle is presented.

Adam Crockett 🌀 • Jun 6 '19 • Edited

I'm talented and corporate. But that's Dyson for you. We are engineering focused so it comes down to the company.

bvmcode • Jun 6 '19

I'll take the security of corporate life and then try to make the best of the opportunities within it. I think generally (generally being the key word), you have better hours and more security within a long standing company and though the work may be more red-tape-laden and not as exciting, there should be opportunity to do good things and expand.

This coming from a guy that has 0 startup experience.

Coding Sam • Jun 6 '19 • Edited

I used to work at big companies. I am working at a startup for the last 8 months and it is being an awesome experience. The team is small so you have more responsibilities and people actually hear you. Your work has more impact on the product.
I was afraid when I got the offer but in the end I accepted. You don't have too much to lose. If it goes bankrupt you will not struggle with finding another job (I am a developer so I can only talk about my side of things).
Sometimes I have to work long hours but it is not that often (you do this also in big companies).
It's not perfect (there is no such thing as the perfect job) and it's not for everyone but I strongly advice you to try, because again, you don't have too much to lose. 👊

Maciek Chmura • Jun 6 '19

I work at a big company and I feel like an unnamed cog in a machine.
I would love to try my best at a startup surrounded by people who care.

Coding Sam • Jun 6 '19

Why don't you do it? :)

Maciek Chmura • Jun 7 '19

Last week I updated my Linkedin and CV. Now I am starting the search :)

Coding Sam • Jun 7 '19

Hell yeah! I wish you the best 👊

Maciek Chmura • Jun 18 '19

Right now I am sitting in the lobby and waiting for an interview. It will take 1,5 hour 😬😬😬

Coding Sam • Jun 18 '19

Awesome. I hope everything goes well. If not, don't worry, there's plenty fish in the sea :)

Maciek Chmura • Jun 18 '19

Thank you ;)

Ash • Aug 26 '19

Same feeling. In the corporate world, you're just another number. In the start-up realm you have a name.

Ben Halpern • Jun 6 '19

I don't think I'd much enjoy this kind of corporate life...

But I can't say I wouldn't mind experiencing the big company thing at some point later in life in the right situation. I'd have fun being in charge of some kind of "lab" situation, like an experimental wing of the corporation with lots of freedom to try things with some budget you don't get on your own.

I also know that that sort of truly fulfilling situation is pretty rare and the grass is always greener. So I'm pretty happy with what I'm currently up to. 😄

(It would be really concerning for DEV if I wasn't, TBH)

Periklis Gkolias • Jun 6 '19

I have done both and found value to both. The experience varies from company to company and person to person.

Though I believe the two things that stand up are:

In startups, you have more say and an exponential rate of learning, as you have more responsibilities in your day-to-day than an average big corp employee that has the same level of experience with you.
In corporate life, things are more predictable if you "just do your job and do it well". Politics exist, but if you dont get actively involved to dirty tricks (but still use common sense) or you are not extremely ambitious to be considered a threat, usually you can have set the foundation for a relatively quiet life (well, yes, this depends on many factors).

Adam Crockett 🌀 • Jun 6 '19 • Edited

Corporate for me, we all do "work from home" on Friday which is very convenient and you never do overtime. Call me crazy but id rather do my own stuff at home in my own time, not constantly worried for my future.