Say I want to maximize TC (for retirement, donation, whatever good purpose) but don't want to go to hedgefunds/quants/trading. I was wondering if I could still maximize TC while jumping to unicorn startups like Asana, Affirm, Opendoor, any hot startup right now. Or should I be focusing on FANG only if I want to maximize TC? TC: new grad
Unicorn startups could work but remember they’re a risk. Half of the billion $$ unicorns will decline in value despite their growth so far. So it’s a bet risk/reward. FANG is risk free money, although slightly lower comp and growth but much better WLB (except FB)
Thanks for this. I always assumed people move to unicorns to trade off some TC for interesting work. Sorry to hear FB has bad WLB :(
It’s not that unicorns force you to work hard - it’s just that the comp is skewed extremely towards rewarding highest performers. So if you cruise for a bit then your decision of joining the Unicorn isn’t paying off. Also, the chances of layoffs or firing are higher, unicorns are more stingy about things like travel reimbursement above economy class, more stingy in legal immigration support of employees (beyond what’s needed bare minimum to keep em employed) etc Career stability is lower than FANG, so if you’re planning a family or having a kid etc, FANG (including Microsoft, Oracle etc) is the best choice.
Snap