Ask HN: Have you ever switched from a large company to a smaller one?
2 comments
I have, I went from a baby bell to a small company. I've also worked at a mix of small and large companies.
Large companies do have company politics, some more than others, but so do small companies. At small companies, the politics tends to be out in the open. Also, you know who is sleeping with who. I'd call this a wash.
Large companies tend to have policies and procedures, so you can get things done, it's just sometimes arduous. Small companies, you can just go ahead and do stuff. But sometimes, if you hit on a sore spot or annoy a higher-up, you get arbitrarily stopped. Things do move faster at a smaller company, unless it's something they've experienced pain over in the recent past. Then, they just don't happen. I personally would give large companies a small edge here, but it's possible that a less dysfunctional small company would be better. I just think they're rate.
Big companies have real HR departments. Yes, HR exists to shield the company from its employees, but that means legally-vetted procedures. Small companies HR is hit and miss, and sometimes obvious transgressions don't get punished, but swept under the rug. Sometimes weird bad things happen and HR doesn't blink, sometimes weird good things happen, and HR doesn't blink. But weird HR related things happen more at small companies. You've got to be aware of that, otherwise, you'll ask out the RMA manager who is secretly sleeping with the Director of Something, and get in trouble.
To my mind, big and small companies are pretty equally horrible. In big companies, you suspect that upper management is a pack of insane criminals profiting via corruption. In a small company, you know for certain that upper management is a pack of insane criminals.
Large companies do have company politics, some more than others, but so do small companies. At small companies, the politics tends to be out in the open. Also, you know who is sleeping with who. I'd call this a wash.
Large companies tend to have policies and procedures, so you can get things done, it's just sometimes arduous. Small companies, you can just go ahead and do stuff. But sometimes, if you hit on a sore spot or annoy a higher-up, you get arbitrarily stopped. Things do move faster at a smaller company, unless it's something they've experienced pain over in the recent past. Then, they just don't happen. I personally would give large companies a small edge here, but it's possible that a less dysfunctional small company would be better. I just think they're rate.
Big companies have real HR departments. Yes, HR exists to shield the company from its employees, but that means legally-vetted procedures. Small companies HR is hit and miss, and sometimes obvious transgressions don't get punished, but swept under the rug. Sometimes weird bad things happen and HR doesn't blink, sometimes weird good things happen, and HR doesn't blink. But weird HR related things happen more at small companies. You've got to be aware of that, otherwise, you'll ask out the RMA manager who is secretly sleeping with the Director of Something, and get in trouble.
To my mind, big and small companies are pretty equally horrible. In big companies, you suspect that upper management is a pack of insane criminals profiting via corruption. In a small company, you know for certain that upper management is a pack of insane criminals.
Yes, I used to work at a Fortune 50 company many moons ago. I've downsized 3 times since.
It depends what you want out of your job. Some people take pride in working for a FAANG. I could see this; at the end of the day, you may be able to point to a product people use IRL and be able to say "I was on the team that did that!" Personally, I could give a shit. It's more about the people I work with, and the solutions I come up with to interesting problems.
You definitely deal with less bullshit. Hopefully no more sprint planning or whatever other bureaucratic stuff you hate. Just make sure that you don't give up too much (ex: for me, I need amazing health insurance). Some people value retirement benefits, etc... just make sure it's acceptable.
For me, it's night and day. I'm much happier.
HTH
It depends what you want out of your job. Some people take pride in working for a FAANG. I could see this; at the end of the day, you may be able to point to a product people use IRL and be able to say "I was on the team that did that!" Personally, I could give a shit. It's more about the people I work with, and the solutions I come up with to interesting problems.
You definitely deal with less bullshit. Hopefully no more sprint planning or whatever other bureaucratic stuff you hate. Just make sure that you don't give up too much (ex: for me, I need amazing health insurance). Some people value retirement benefits, etc... just make sure it's acceptable.
For me, it's night and day. I'm much happier.
HTH
I am comfortable where I am at work, but company politics are annoying and the system is so big that you don't have access to a lot of things, API backwards/forwards compatibility is hard, coordination with a lot of people for small changes is necessary and everything takes a long time to organize and execute. At this point I think I might be a better fit for a smaller company where things move faster.
Have you ever done this? How did it work out for you? Can the pastures be greener elsewhere?
Please share your experience! <3