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It's a 'feature' of a startup. You become an investor in the company.

The other option is to work at a public company, where stock is liquid.

They aren't really comparable, and a preference for one or the other is personal choice. Both are correct answers.

A lot depends on pay. If your startup pay is identical to your public pay (say 2 competing job offers), you paid $0 for some amount of options.

Now if your pay is 25% down, you paid 25% of your salary for those options.. +/- a slightly different lifestyle and feel for the company, which is interesting to many.

A stock option is the right to become an investor at, hopefully, a preferential price assuming that, hopefully, the option is still exercisable. Both legally and based upon your personal circumstances in the future.

In contrast, a true and immediate equity grant is becoming an investor.

People like to fuzz these concepts but they are different in principle.

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