When To Work For A Startup And When To Work For A Big Company
This post assumes that you have the requisite experience and accomplishments to work for a medical device company as a sales rep.
You might find yourself at a crossroads in your career sometime in the future when you are presented with two opportunities: “Do I work for the big company or do I go to work for the startup?”
Let me help with the cost/benefit analysis:
Big Company
Pros:
- Strong R&D
- Well known brand name
- Know how to do business with proven systems in place
- Some companies still offer pensions (ex: JNJ after five years with the company)
- Normally have strong benefit programs
Cons:
- They normally do not pay top dollar
- If the organization is too large there is the ability to get lost in the sauce without strong leadership
- Dealing with large bureaucracies without strong systems can be painful
- Benefit programs do not offer stock options (normally)
Startup
Pros:
- Fast moving environment (this could be a con for some)
- They normally pay higher rates than settled companies
- Normally offer stock options which means you could cash in if the company goes public
Cons:
- Startups are normally based on one product or service leading to higher than normal risk
- R&D may not be very strong
- Customer service systems may be at the experimental level
Feel free to disagree with me or offer more suggestions in our comment section or forums.
My recommendation is for someone starting out to try their hardest to get into a respected large company, associate yourself with excellence, and you can lean on that experience all the way into the future. Once you have that foundation, then go looking for the money and you will most likely find it with startups.
Cheers!
