I’ve been at EA for just over a year. Compensation is nothing to complain about but WLB is nonexistent, things are slow (not that expected anything else) and I have no social life. I’ve been made an offer from a startup in the AI space, directly leveraging my skills and experience. If you have made the jump from corpo to startup, can you share your experience? Especially if you are a designer (product, UI, UX). Current TC: $126k (base + bonus + RSU) Offer TC: $125k (base) + options YOE: 8 Location: EU I’m sick of the slowness, lack of autonomy and sucking up to stakeholders and how perf reviews work (results don’t seem to matter, only making the manager happy matters). I don’t have the impression that I’m making a difference. Am I under the illusion that moving to a startup will make me happier? Please drop your truth bombs below. Thank you. #design #ui/ux #startup
Having worked in both environments, both have pros and cons, as you know already. In a startup, your contribution might carry more weight, you might be more autonomous and might be more in control of certain conversations and decisions. But you also might be constrained or frustrated by the lack of resources, the lack of direction (or the sudden change of), and perhaps the boundaries between work and life might be a little more blurry (meaning having to work a lot of hours). I don’t regret at all the years in startups, as I knew what I was getting myself into. Will you be happier? It depends. But I would do it and try first hand (as I did), and find by yourself what works for you. Personally, I think trying different environments has been positive for my career and my growth. I hope whatever decision you make gives you what you are looking for!
Did you work for startups early or late in your career? Do you think it makes a difference? I feel like I could be stuck being a “senior” at a large company forever whereas growth in a startup/wearing many hats could suit me. Do you feel that a fully remote and distributed startup is good for WLB?