FAANG vs Well Funded Startups

Hey everyone, I'm currently working as a SDE at a startup with about three years of experience. I'm considering making a move, and I've received an offer from an early-stage startup where I'd be joining as a founding engineer. My main motivation for wanting to switch to some startup is the potential for high learning and growth opportunities, especially since I'm still relatively early in my career. However, I'm a bit torn between targeting multinational corporations (MNCs) like FAANG and sticking with startups.On one hand, MNCs offer more stability and potentially valuable stock options, which can be more than just paper money. So, my question is, should I prioritize learning and growth by staying with startups, or should I also consider the FAANG tag and potential stock benefits? Also Would there be any added advantage when I later interview at some FAANG , after working as a founding engineer for 3-4 years in some startup (given I’ll have to build multiple things from scratch and owning multiple modules). The base package for the offer I hold is roughly equivalent to what FAANGs pay at my level. Any advice or insights would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone, I'm currently working as a SDE at a startup with about three years of experience. I'm considering making a move, and I've received an offer from an early-stage startup where I'd be joining as a founding engineer. My main motivation for wanting to switch to some startup is the potential for high learning and growth opportunities, especially since I'm still relatively early in my career. However, I'm a bit torn between targeting multinational corporations (MNCs) like FAANG and sticking with startups.On one hand, MNCs offer more stability and potentially valuable stock options, which can be more than just paper money. So, my question is, should I prioritize learning and growth by staying with startups, or should I also consider the FAANG tag and potential stock benefits? Also Would there be any added advantage when I later interview at some FAANG , after working as a founding engineer for 3-4 years in some startup (given I’ll have to build multiple things from scratch and owning multiple modules). The base package for the offer I hold is roughly equivalent to what FAANGs pay at my level. Any advice or insights would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

What is your take on Software engineering learning in a startup than in a Big tech ? Like how does it impact one's career growth ? P.S. Please consider Zomato etc. to be big tech and not startups. Thank you

Had a call with my cousin this weekend. Life has been very hectic lately so, I have been laying low for a while now. Anyway, my cousin reached out and he brought up something very interesting. He mentioned how the quality of new engineering grads at FAANG has been trending downwards over the last three or so years. Technical competency aside, there is a weird behavioural shift wherein freshers have adopted job hopping every 2-3 years. He told me that there are zero engineers who stayed longer than 3 years at his org. I mean optimizing for pay is fine. The thing to really balance for is impact in the long run because at one point you would find it hard to scale beyond a Lead/EM role at an org. But the real thing is that the "FAANG" hype has started to die down amongst the 99th percentile of talent. I wonder how long will it take to have a trickle down effect to 80th percentile and so on. Just to validate, I asked a friend for his opinion and he opined that "Bhai, tum FAANG mei naaukar ho ya kisi startup mei, ho toh naukar hi." Translation: "You can work at FAANG, or at a startup but you are still a servant(employee)" Is the FAANG hype really dead?

Hi I want to get job at offcampus Microsoft, I am cse-2024 passout unplaced. Tell me from scratch what all skills are required to crack Microsoft,what should all i have to do? (CP,DSA...etc? ) I am ready to work really super hard Please spare 2min time and comment it will help me a lot

I recently worked at a startup and it was terrible. To be honest, I still worked at one of the better ones but it just sucked. Some of the clear downsides I see - Survival mode leads to chaos. You can be treated anyway and asked to leave whenever even though you left big opportunities to be here - Brand loss to find next job (Big problem) - Trying to make you feel unworthy(Doesn't bother me but I have seen people lose self confidence) - Loss of opportunity to build real skills like building sustainable teams for the long run I think over all working at a startup especially early teams is a losing proposition. Do it only if - - you know the founders/team well - you know the industry and market well and it is a bet you personally believe in - you are secure enough in life that if you go back to your job, you will easily get employed For middle class kids, startups are the worst bets one can take.

3 years in Google 16+ years of experience 8+ years of EM experience Google hiring committee member Ask me anything

What are the biggest disadvantages of working in FAANG acc to you? According to me: 1. Company leadership says A (which is something I most of the time agreed with), but I kept seeing middle management do B. 2. More and more processes and red tape. I did not like the direction the company was developing (I was in a sensitive org, so we had a lot of lawyers etc to begin with, but it got overbearing) 3. Promotions are extremely formulaic and at times I felt like an ape trying to tick 10 check boxes in a half.

Hi folks, thinking of writing a regular mini blog here about my learnings being a generalist in the ecosystem. I currently handle growth at an ecom startup and have previously been through 2-3 startups + a large corporate in my 7 year career. #1: Why you should not stay only in startups Recently started reflecting on salaries of many peers who are also startup folks and trying to see where it stands. There are 3 cohorts: a. People who started out in Big 4/Corporate & then became a generalist: They've been underpaid the most. First pay was 4-5L, and when they transitioned to startups, started at 7-9L. Over time, growing from there is difficult without MBA. b. People who have forever been in startups: They earn more than A on average. But here too, there is a delta in their salaries vs. people with same YoE who went to an MBA and are in corporate now. Side note: I've seen this cohort has usually loved what they've done, and being in startups definitely has positively impacted their thought process. c. People who went to a corporate/big tech etc. mid way: This cohort has done the best long term. Their pay got recalibrated when they went to a larger company in the middle through their career, and when they rejoined startups, they were respected more in salary negotiation. This is to anybody out there who is a generalist and sees a similar path. Try to sandwich a proper, large company in your career. It gives you perspective on whether you like it and if startups is really your preferred route. And it also recalibrates your pay. Startups will limit you basis your last salary. Corporates have standards basis bands. Just something to think over. NOTE: Do share feedback, if this makes sense. And if you'd like to read more of these too.