Should you work for a big IT company?
For those who are lazy to read through, here is the summary.
The simple answer is: Yes, you probably should. The complex answer is: It really depends on your personality and needs.
Intro
As someone who got a job in a small company right after graduating from college, I can say that I’m really thankful for the opportunity and experience. It taught me a lot since I didn’t know what to expect and how to behave on my 1st job ever at the age of 23.
I worked there for almost 2 years and realized that it isn’t for me. I was shy at that point in life, I wasn’t hanging around with managers, seniors, or the CEO which lead to miserable salary increases even though I worked harder than others at the same seniority but still they got better paychecks then me because they were BFF’s with the people that “matter”.
Luckily, everyone was forced to create a LinkedIn profile by the CEO, and, as you know, there are a lot of scouts there searching through the portal to find the perfect candidate for their company. And that was what happened, one day I got a message asking if I was interested to work for a big company. Since you are here reading this, you can guess that I accepted the offer.
To this day I think that it was the best thing that happened to me. I progressed a lot, both professionally and personally. I stopped being shy, helped the people around me, and learned from the best to become the best version of myself. Now I’m in charge of people’s careers and, led by my previous experience, I’m fighting for equality and value.
Small companies
Often associated with a friendly, family-like atmosphere where you know everyone.
In most cases, this can be a good thing, but, as with all families, you will probably get into fights, and if the other side is your superior, this won’t be good for you.
You can end up in an endless loop of minor repetitive tasks that no one wants to do and get stuck at the same seniority and low salary for a long time, especially if you are the shy type and don’t ask for a raise or you never complain about anything. This makes them “think” that you are satisfied with the current salary and they keep the money to themselves.
What can also happen is that you end up working long hours when the deadline is near or missed, or someone gets sick, or you can just get manipulated to work more while not getting paid for overtime.
On the flip side, you are often treated with compassion and understanding, everyone will try to help you and you will not feel stressed.
Big companies
So you are telling me that I should skip small companies and try to find a job in the big league? Well no, as you can imagine, they also have pros and cons.
Big companies are associated with stability, security, big sallaries, the chance to learn and progress and that is true in most cases.
In big companies, you can get the opportunity to get out of your comfort zone and do your best to become the best version of yourself. There is an abundance of projects/technologies that you can work on. You have a wide variety of geniuses that can help you solve problems you are struggling with and learn a lot from them.
Here comes the “but”, but you are often overwhelmed with a lot of rules and policies that don’t make sense to you. The bigger the company gets, the more rules it will have, and the worst part is that those rules are often bent and become an exception for the minority.
Personal opinion
This is my personal opinion and it doesn’t mean that big companies are for everyone. I have two colleagues that also moved from the small company. One has moved to another small company where he’s gotten the chance to shine and now he is one of their most valued employees. The 2nd colleague has moved to a big company where he’s struggling to find his place. He doesn’t like how the existing rules aren’t the same for everyone, how some people get away with slacking off or how they are not qualified for their seniority, how someone who might not deserve a promotion still gets a promotion, and so on.
Questions that you need to ask yourself before choosing where to work:
- Is the company friendly to your current seniority?
- Do you like to work with a small or a big group of people?
- Are you interested in the experience or the money only?
- Do they have projects/technologies that you are interested in and do they have people who are more experienced than you?
- Are they investing in your development and happiness?
In the end, you can’t know the dark secrets until you start working for the company. Don’t be afraid to try out different companies and see which suits you the best.
Thanks for reading, if you liked it hit that 👏! If you have any questions, suggestions, or regards, feel free to write in the comments section. Follow me for more stories. 😊
