To start your career at a start-up or a big company, is a big question! Obviously, they each have their advantages. Consider this- start your career in an established and big company and you have rigid working hours, corporate environment and maybe more benefits on offer. On the other hand a start-up offers you flexible working hours, lesser benefits and they try to please you every which way! However, few people consider how things could pan out in the long run.
Let us consider the following facts.
At Big Companies
Many Big Companies will have definite graduate employment schemes. Which implies that there is probably a good job board for fresh hires and you will possibly be trained in the specific field that you are hired in. Many corporations will even remunerate you for taking up professional qualifications.
They will have firm tasks prepared and your work will revolve around performing for your particular job description. There will be an organizational hierarchy to be followed.
At Start-Ups
In contrast Start-ups could be all of the opposite. You will possibly be working with a small team in an energetic atmosphere and the depth of exposurethat you are allowed could be enormous. This could possibly be great for your career in its initial stages but you are not sure how the future could be.
Somebody who has worked in both environments would dare to tell you to weigh the pros and cons of both options. However, it would be to your benefit to consider these following facts, both for now as well as for the long term.
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Decide for yourself what type of a career you want
Corporate work environments have positions that generally have narrow roles. For example, if you are in a managerial role, you just need to manage or if you are an analyst, you are expected to create reports. Thus, you know for sure the role you have (or want)and the direction you will go in. This is the type of environment that would help to hone your skills and grow, without ever having to bother about other responsibilities. So you stay focused towards your goal and move up the ladder accordingly
On the other hand, your role in a startup would allow you to gain more aptitudes and a good insight into several positions. You could choose this as what you want going forward- play multiple roles instead of focusing on one. This then lets you develop as a multi-talented person.
Find out what resources you would need to achieve your goals
If you need a readymade platform where your peers can help you derive from their experience and knowledge and you want to develop to positions in a certain time frame, corporate environment is for you.
However if you prefer learning your way to the top- more through trial and error, and are prepared to take a few risks along the way, the start-up environment is best for you. Again, it depends entirely upon you if you can work and learn at the same time.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, you need to consider factors that are beneficial to your chosen goals. You could safely conclude that one is not better than the other but just dissimilar- what suits you best is what will be good for you!