Anything is Possible (in a Startup)

This is great advice - instead of looking for a regular-old job by pushing resumes, look around for an interesting startup that you would love to work at, and try and get in to them.

I actually never even considered going to work for a startup. I always wanted to start my own company, and knew that if that option ever closed, I'd just go work for Google or some other company. It wasn't until I started reading more about the startup world that I realized there are literally hundreds of companies I'd rather work for (not to knock Google of course, I just prefer smaller companies where I'd have more influence.)

I worked for startups right out of school in 99. I've also worked for a small/midsize company for the last 4 years. Both situations were great, and very different, learning experiences. I can't speak to the mega-corp option, but there are definitely non-startup jobs to be had that aren't soul-less.

At least for me, pg's essays do a much better job at advocating working for a startup, or starting a company. The tone employed by this seems to be less rational and more sensational.

The author glosses over the sacrifices that a non-engineer has to make in order to get employed at a startup. First off, there's the enormous pay cut. Expect to earn 1/2 of what you'd be earning in another job ASSUMING that you were able to land a job at a funded startup. Second, what jobs are available at funded startups for fresh college graduates? Sales, marketing, business develpment? Sales is a tough gig, and not necessarily an intellectually inspiring process. There simply aren't that many PAID marketing or business development jobs at startups for recent college grads, and the competition for those jobs is fierce.

Being at a startup can be an incredibly rewarding experience. But I hate to think that students (already idealistic) are getting into a startup without the proper understanding of what it's like.

It is crazy how perfectly the Matrix script works for this essay. And it's just so true, do you want the red pill or the blue?