Big vs Small

Big Corporation vs a Startup (Perspective of a very young employee)

Just passed out of college I joined the biggest Technology company in the world(IBM) and worked there for one year. I was doing pretty well there, Everyone was saying that my career is going in right direction. Yes, I also feel I was doing good. In short period of time one patent approved for filing, four more disclosure filing. My manager was also happy with me and my American aka felt I was good. I don't know how many employees get a chance to hear from there manager that he was being asked by Tech lead ( My tech lead was a big shot in IBM)  and US manager to make sure that this guy (me :) doesn't feel unhappy.But i am sure the number is not too big. Then suddenly I changed my mind and joined a startup. The change was justified only in my mind.everyone else barring one or two was thinking that it was foolish and suicidal. Most people warned me before I took final decision. they tried to convince me by all their arguments that taking such a huge risk at this early stage of career is not wise.

          I talked to one person, and without asking for her permission that if she was willing to consult me or not, asked her to tell me what to do. Thankfully she told me what I wanted to hear and I was convinced that I am doing good :)My thinking was that this change was aligning with my long and short term Goals. Short term goal was to earn more money.At new place I was going to get 100% salary hike on increased salary after appraisal at older place. At the the top of it there is a chance to make money later by stock options. This was impressive from any point of view. This turned out to be better after I got my first salary at new place. I am feeling more independent, My wardrobe has more number of clothes and I have more number of gadgets. :)

                         Only the time will tell, whether my decision was foolish or not. If it turns out to be foolish, I may suffer and struggle but definitely won't regret. I did whatever I wanted to do.That's reason enough to keep me satisfied. I respect the good intentions of the people who warned me well in advance, but without being disrespectful I will say, they were confusing and not helpful.Sometimes lessons can be learnt only hard way and its best not to confuse more to a person who is already confused and adamant to do whatever he wants to do. Remember, he is asking you the question in the hope that you will highlight something good about his decision. He is not saying you to tell the reasons so that he can change his mind.

                   Yes there are difference between working in a large and a small company and its very close to be described as cultural change but definitely not as cultural shock. There are some obvious differences.In a startup you interact with fewer number of people, you work in a smaller office, Processes are less organized and in many cases they may not be in place. Believe me these things doesn't make a large difference in your life and they should not be a factor in deciding whether to work for a large company or startup. 

                 The good thing about the startup is that you know everybody and almost everything about the company. You can talk to CEO and vice president. Your ideas are more visible and you have better say in changing something if you want to. Learning curve becomes steeper and you work hard to make things working. You become less dependent upon support system as its absent in many cases. You learn by experimenting, reading and doing things at faster rate. You 

get lesser number of chances to fail and this makes you more accurate. 

                     In a big company, environment is more formal, everyone has their well defined role and its very difficult to get to know about other things.People in startups are generally more enthusiastic about the technology and market. everyone thinks and discusses about everything. Even if you are a developer,you get a chance to be in customer meetings. You can see why deals happens and why it breaks.These advantages of a startup is helpful with my long term goal of becoming an Entrepreneur.

                The one factor which favors working in a Big company is job security and its definitely is a very big factor while going for Big Vs small. Analyze your risk taking appetite and if you can afford small then only go for it otherwise its better to change your mind.

               One more big disadvantage working for a startup is that there are very less number of girls :( and unless you are very lucky you may not find a single suitable gal to accomplish your future plans :) I was not very lucky in IBM also and IBM was almost as bad as this new place so it doesn't make any difference in my life.

Overall change is good for me and I hope, situation will be better in future. 

Thank you consultant for free consultancy :) I needed someone to support my decision and you did that well. Also I am thankful to one of my friends who tried his best to get me out of IBM. Rock on !