Startup vs. Corporate Giant for first job 1

[JOJOMO]

I'm graduating w/ my master's in May in ME. I've been interviewing and currently have a offer in the midwest. I'm from the southeast and am in school down here. My offer is great money working for a big company. The job sounds fairly interesting, though similar day-in/day-out. Good lateral and vertical career options though. From what I've heard from others, this company has a reputation for paying their new engineers better than anyone else.

I interviewed w/ a local startup here last week. I think it went really well. I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch, so to speak, but the guy made it sound like I'd probably get an offer from them, though I've thought this before with nothing coming out of it. After talking about money, it'd probably be significantly less, say 10-15%. I really like the company and the work I'd do. It's automotive/suspension/vehicle dynamics sort of work. I spend a good bit of my free time learning about this stuff and posting/reading on this forum anyway. Why not get paid for it, right? Not too sure about advancement, but the line of work and experience sounds really great.

I'm from the area here (southeast), married with a wife making decent money here who would prefer to stay local, but willing to move. Both of our families are less than 2 hrs away. I'll start out making more than she does (significantly in the midwest and a little more locally). She is definitely employable anywhere. She's in employee benefits and knows her stuff.

Do you guys have any suggestions. I feel like it may be a little risky with the startup, but I believe in their products and see good potential for company growth. Although, job security and money/benefits/cost of living lean towards the midwest.

 

[whyun]

Ultimately the decision is yours, but I would mention that 10 to 15% isn't a significant difference.

My first job was with a small firm. I've also been in midsize and large firms later in my career but there are many valuable lessons learned from the small firm that are priceless. Larger firms have larger projects and each employees is a part of a whole. Small firms, projects may be smaller but you may be given full control. People have different preferences so I can't say which is better.

If I were you, I'd take the local job, be close to the family and learn the trade. Few years down the road opportunities will present themselves to you, whether you like them or not.

 

[dcasto]

I've seen more people damaged by going to the small or start up firms than those that went to the big firms out of school. A 4.0 engineer knows about 1/20 of the required skills, get mad, get insulted, get over it. You learn the rest on the job and if you don't get the right help or mentor, you'll be an also ran. Notice I said more people damaged, I've seen some that went with smaller shops do quite well (well means: happy, fame, and money just like in the game of careers).

So John J, its going to be who you pick or get stuck with as your teacher. Today, the small companies have robbed the big guys and the better people in engineering are with the startups, on the average.

 

[whyun]

In my experience, I've encountered many talented engineers who are "trained" in smaller firms but ended up doing bigger and better things.

I have no intention of bashing big firms because I also know many talented people there, but my general observation is that the average staff knowledge base is much deeper in smaller firms. Downside is, small firms generally pay less so after newbies get enough experience they find better opportunities.

 

[Senselessticker]

Concerning salaries from a new small company:

I started with a small company. We are growing at a very healthy rate (not too fast....but steady).

My starting salary was about about 5k below the average starting salary of the nearby corporate giants when considering the same kind of entry level position. In 2.5 years, I have increased my salary by 30%.

Much of my career so far has been very challenging. When catching up with college friends, I've discovered I've had much more oppurtunity to learn (and much more oppurtunity to really screw up) than those who went with the giants.

Small companies are not for everyone. It WILL be more demanding, more risky, and more challenging.....and potentially.....more rewarding. To be successful in a small firm, you will need a little luck that you don't need in a large company. Your benefits will probably be better at a large company also.

There is not a right/wrong way to go. However, I believe that "most" engineers are better suited for large companies. The the guys with lower gpa's, but outgoing personalities are generally better suited for small firms.

 

[EddyC]

I've worked for several small firms. I disliked all of them. They micromanaged & microaccounted me to death. They had poor pay, poor software tools (if at all), no mentoring and optional ethics. Yes, I did get to work on a lot of different things, but I didn't enjoy it due to the factors named above. Now I am with one of the largest design firms in the world. I work much harder than I did in the small firms that I was with before, but I am much happier. Why? Because this large employer has a positive work culture.

 

[KENAT]

Well I've never worked for a really big place but my first place was fairly small (over 100 altogether but less than 10 most of the time in the design team) though certainly not a start up, it was 70 years old when I started there! It was UK Defence/Aerospace.

My current place is mid sized. Several hundred, maybe even 1000 employees spread across the world (mainly in US). My site is in Santa Barbara and has perhaps 200 people.

While I have some great colleagues at my current place I have to say that all in all my first small place was far better. My starting pay was comparable to the big boys, and my career progressed pretty rapidly learning a lot, doing a lot, and being rewarded accordingly.

That said I am now very much the proverbial "jack of all trades master of none" which can be both disadvantage or advantage when applying to the big boys.

 

[ScottyUK]

My biggest 'large company' was Enron. So much for big company benefits!


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Sometimes I only open my mouth to swap feet...

 

[MechanicalChef]

As a recent grad at my large employer, I do like that there is a large support infrastructure available that makes me say, "That's helpful. I'm glad that's available." Fab, NDI, metrology, KBE, etc. Plus I like having the opportunity to swap into other on-site groups to diversify my skill set, without having to reorganize my life and relocate.

 

[KENAT]

MechChef, that was actually one of the things I liked about my small first place. In addition to the design department they had a treatment plant, paint shop, Machine shop, Weld shop, Fabrication, NDT department, Test Lab etc. About the only thing they completely lacked was any kind of foundry/heat treatment.

I'm now at a much larger company which basically only has assembly in terms of manufacturing etc.

It's not necessarily just the size that's important as others above have suggested.

 

[Beggar]

I've been on both sides of that fence and I'd choose the big company over a start-up any day.

At the big places, I've received a good salary, good benefits, training, the opportunity to go to trade shows, and the chance to work with the newest hardware and software.

At the small places, I've received less money, poor to no benefits, no training, no company-provided chances to see what's out there and been offered out of date tools and software pirated off of the internet.

At one startup, I did earn nearly twice what I've ever earned before but two years later, was laid off with the dissolution of the engineering group. Here I am four months later, still wondering what future I might have in engineering and where my next job might be (and hoping like heck it's not at Home Depot, Wal*Mart, or Radio Shack).

Were I in your shoes, I'd take the big place and never look back. To me, though, stability and opportunity are much more important than exciting, cutting edge work. Of course, I'm 42 and have a family so my priorities may differ from yours.

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[SandCounter]

Having gone through the job search process in recent years and keeping a constant eye on rival opportunities to gauge my progress, I am inclined to say that with larger companies you may start out at a higher salary, however, your opportunities for advancement may be limited. With a smaller company, though you start at a lower salary, you have a chance to become an integral part of the organization, and monetary opportunities such as bonuses and profit sharing in proportion to your actual efforts are much more likely. Though, risks with a very small company can be akin to entrepreneurship.

If you move far away from family, try to predict the annual cost in travel and deduct that from the proposal from the large company for a truer comparison. You will burn more vacation days when living away from home. Also, consider that the cost of living in the Midwest is higher then that in the South. There are some good websites out there where you input your income in one state and it tells you what you would have to make in another state to maintain your lifestyle.

As for me, I am with a midsize company with about 1000 employees. I have seen the benefits of both big and small.