Intern here. Got a full time offer. However I am not very enthusiastic about the full time offer. The way I look at it is that Facebook already has 2 Billion users. It is already built. The only work engineers do is maintainence and adding stupid features like balloons in the air on clicking the 'Congrats' word. I want to work in a <500 employee sized company where I get to build things and not just add small features to already built core products. Is this a rational thought or am I just delusional about small/mid sized startups? For folks who have worked at both startups and big4 companies what are your thoughts on this?
It's a trade off. There are quite a few teams in FB that are in start-up mode, if you know where to look. Yes FB is a big company with 2 billion people but leadership is smart enough to realize that what it is now means jack if they can't take the right bets to set up the future; look there if you want to do something interesting. There are quite a few projects there that a smallish company can't do (whether because of manpower or lack of $$ safety net or what have you) so that's a consideration as well. Of course, it's all trade offs. There will be some risk/reward curve no matter where you go; it's just a matter of which risk/reward curve you think will be best for you.
Thanks pretty good answer. Could you please mention some teams which are in this start up mode. Alternatively, is there way to find this using internet resources?
Hardware teams
the way i like to think about working at FB as a new grad is that you need to have an amount of luck + meet the right people to get put on those projects that @PlqN87 mentioned. my suggestion would be to cold email current facebook employees working on legacy technologies at the company and asking for their advice for people who are just entering the company -- they would say something along the lines of "join a project that's just getting started" there's tons of those. you just have to find them and show you're the best fit for it out of all other bootcampers. good luck. or of course use that FB offer as leverage to interview for companies that have high growth potential -- you do the due diligence there to figure that out.
Come join Uber, we have a lot of interesting problems to solve. Let me know if you are interested.
Uber's most interesting problem right now is the CEO search and internal culture. Jokes aside...I think Uber is way too big too. Want to join a company that is now what Uber was in 2014
Maybe Uber will make you CEO. Try applying.
I did this mistake when graduated. It was quite hard to change the job in 2009 as there were a lot of competing candidates and having a top company on the resume would have helped rather than having a bunch of not very known companies. Go to a large company, try to find an interesting problem to work on and if it doesn't work out you get the brand name on your resume that's going to work for you for many years.
+1 Much easier to jump into any <insert startup> after having a brand name on resume.
Also easier to get another good job if that startup fails and isn't the only thing on your resume
Tough it out for a year-18 mo. I agree fb is stupid, but a lot of doors will open if it's on your resume.
I already have the internship on my resume. That counts right?
It does but does not carry the same weight as an fte. For example, if you only have the internship listed, how do I know you performed well and were offered the chance to return? Years back I did the same thing- left one of the big 4 to join a startup. While I learned a lot, my bank account suffered for it. If that doesn't concern you or you have a very specific role/company in mind I'd say go for it. Otherwise, fb is a pretty sure bet to get your career going in the right direction and you can always move to a smaller company when the right opportunity arises.
6
I've been at different size tech companies. Here's my quick take: Angel funded start up: Still trying to prove that a market exists for your product. Lots of changes in product direction. Velocity is highly limited by the few engineers on hand. However, that risk is what makes this stage exciting. Most companies fail at this stage (probably north of 90%). The worst is you get some traction that makes you continue but not enough to quit. You may spend years going nowhere. Engineering wise you're focused on building out the bare bones of your user experience / tech stack. B/C funded start up: Stretching your legs now because you've hit some early milestones. Throw around your sexy VC names and start hiring people to lead up BD, engineering, sales and marketing. Now that your burn is much higher, your runway is looming. Paychecks must be made. Your founders are now talking about how you're the next unicorn and playing up the potential for your business to be worth $1B/$10B/Google killer. You hit some more interesting tech problems here as you need to scale the crap that you hacked together before. You rewrite your bad code and that potentially goes awry since you also need to deliver all the features sales has promised customers. Most companies try to find a monetization model here and struggle and fail. Some companies (particularly consumer focused) may have the luxury of focusing of aggressive growth because they've really tapped into something. Those companies can be counted on one, maybe two hands. Series D and on: Congratulations. You've had the incredible luck of picking the < 5% (1%) of companies that get this far. Hopefully the founders haven't sold off so much of the company that your shares are worthless. You've probably gained a bunch of weight or lost a lot of hair from the last 3-4 years of working nights and weekends. Your tech stack is fairly developed and now it's about interesting optimization problems or ambitious new projects/features that complement your existing platform.
As someone who's been at many failed startups, I wish I joined a FB/Snap/Uber when they proved massive traction but still had some serious questions on viability. That's probably the sweet spot between a company that will like fail and a company that will have massive success (with respect to risk). You'll get the benefit of working with some good people, have a chance to have decent financial success, work on some stressful projects, etc. I think Uber has passed that stage. I think Snap has bad leadership and will go the way of Twitter. Facebook was at this stage like 6-8 years ago. I'm not sure which of the existing companies are good ones to go to... but I'm also not looking. I'd look for companies with strong leadership, continued aggressive growth, a believable plan for the next 5 years that will take them to the next level. Don't believe all the BS you read on Techcrunch... many of the next big things they talk about don't pan out. Many disruptive companies look like a joke in the beginning but have metrics to prove otherwise.
@juansolo nailed it. The Sweet spot is what I am looking for. Unfortunately right now I can't seem to figure out which companies are in that sweet spot
If you're craving a startup, that urge won't go away until you live it. Nothing like the highs and lows and stakes of a < 100 person startup. The Facebooks will be there in the future after you realize how exhausting startups are.
I would say join FB for a year , learn how big companies work. On your first work anniversary, quit your job and join a emerging startup and build that company.. Most startups have very talented coders, but they seem to be lost as to how to get stuff done ..
I second this. If you're out of school, work for a FB/Google if you can. Spend at least a year here, maybe a few. The reason is that just having that on your resume will open doors for you. When you go out looking for that special startup, the name brand is strong and will put you in high demand. If your startups fail and you decide to go back to FB/Google/name-brand-company, your prior years will help you get back in much easier. During your time at FB, hone your eng skills. Everyone starts with grunt shit, but that doesn't necessarily stop you from learning other stuff and understanding the full stack. It's also a good chance to learn about the software development process, how to build successful products, growth hacks, how to use analytics, design, etc.
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