That, given the chance, always choose a smaller company: having a direct contact with the person that pays your salary gives you a better shot in terms of professional growth
Agree, I’ve been lucky (and persistent) enough to end up in an asshole-less workplace.
As they say “job interviews are both sided” and the smaller the company is, the more relevant the person interviewing you is gonna be for that company: that’s a good litmus test for what your potential workplace is going to be. I turned down many offers from people I had the feeling (or proof) they could be assholes.
A smaller company means smaller salary and bigger potential to have to fill in the cracks as management decides to not backfill.
I moved from a 10 person map to a hundreds of employees map/hosting provider and doubled my pay for minimal extra work. My team isn’t much bigger than my previous team, but I don’t have to work nearly as hard being a JOAT vs staying in my lane and passing off stuff that’s out of my primary knowledge domain.
I had quite the opposite experience: my last job was for a big company (800+ employees) I had a shitton of work with the downside of being extremely repetitive and alienating, just a small cog inside a huge machine.
Now it’s just me and my boss. Of course I’m a JOAT and I have more responsibilities, but that makes the work way less boring and I feel more appreciated for what I do every day. I earn a little more than before and I have the upside of having learned many new skills that make me a more valuable asset on the work market.
I’m aware that not all kinds of job allow you to do this, tho.
My situation. I was told unless someone retires there isn’t really a way to go up. The only reason I’m sticking around is because I have gotten decentish raises and benefits like them paying for all my personal gas.
That said, 2 of the old timers retired and they just cut those positions. If I don’t get a bug raise or another position come my next year I’m gonna bounce.
That, given the chance, always choose a smaller company: having a direct contact with the person that pays your salary gives you a better shot in terms of professional growth
The downside is that in smaller companies, assholes have a bigger impact on you.
Agree, I’ve been lucky (and persistent) enough to end up in an asshole-less workplace.
As they say “job interviews are both sided” and the smaller the company is, the more relevant the person interviewing you is gonna be for that company: that’s a good litmus test for what your potential workplace is going to be. I turned down many offers from people I had the feeling (or proof) they could be assholes.
A smaller company means smaller salary and bigger potential to have to fill in the cracks as management decides to not backfill.
I moved from a 10 person map to a hundreds of employees map/hosting provider and doubled my pay for minimal extra work. My team isn’t much bigger than my previous team, but I don’t have to work nearly as hard being a JOAT vs staying in my lane and passing off stuff that’s out of my primary knowledge domain.
I had quite the opposite experience: my last job was for a big company (800+ employees) I had a shitton of work with the downside of being extremely repetitive and alienating, just a small cog inside a huge machine.
Now it’s just me and my boss. Of course I’m a JOAT and I have more responsibilities, but that makes the work way less boring and I feel more appreciated for what I do every day. I earn a little more than before and I have the upside of having learned many new skills that make me a more valuable asset on the work market.
I’m aware that not all kinds of job allow you to do this, tho.
Another downside with smaller companies is there not always room for you to grow or move up.
My situation. I was told unless someone retires there isn’t really a way to go up. The only reason I’m sticking around is because I have gotten decentish raises and benefits like them paying for all my personal gas. That said, 2 of the old timers retired and they just cut those positions. If I don’t get a bug raise or another position come my next year I’m gonna bounce.