Startup jobs

Totally disagree on the "zero risk" of being a startup employee. Startups have some benefits for employees but they have a host of negatives as well. Your typical startup employee is going to work more and get paid less than your typical big company employee. In the highly unlikely event that a startup does have a big liquidation event (IPO or a big acquisition), employees get their often diluted equity converted to cash after everyone else- if at all. Then let's think about the risk of going into work and finding that the doors of your unprofitable employer are locked for good because the VCs pulled their remaining cash. You can learn a lot at a startup (I certainly have) but you can also get stuck in your employer's technological niche with knowledge and skills that aren't all that transferable. Then let's cover the fact that being an employee at a startup is often a lot more stressful. Zero risk? No way.

It's not zero risk; startups pay less than market rates and make up (hopefully more than) the difference with equity. The gamble (risk) is that you'll end up with less after 3-5 yeas than if you had just stayed at a BigCo and invested well.