This is a follow up to the post
https://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/high-paying-corporate-job-or-exciting-startup-please-help-me-choose!, wherein I detailed my wonderful "problem" of choosing between a startup and Google.
To recap, I had a strong software engineering offer from a startup in an exciting field. I was expecting a higher offer from Google, but I worried Google would stick me doing something I hated. I weighed seizing an exciting opportunity against deferring my happiness for an earlier retirement.
Since I wrote that, the Google offer came, and it was even better than I anticipated. (I am uncomfortable posting the numbers here, but I'll share them over PM - just ask.) However I still felt uneasy about its blind allocation policy. What if I hated the work?
So, before accepting the offer, I spoke to the recruiter. I told her it is important to me to work in an area whose products I personally like, and what those areas are. She arranged a phone conversation with the manager for the team into which I was slotted. This confirmed my fears: it was an ads team, a field I had no interest in! Ugh! So I told the recruiter that it wasn't a good fit, and what areas might be better. She then arranged phone chats with four more Google managers that were also interested in me. I learned about the teams, the work I would be doing, etc.
This was fantastic! Now instead of a single nebulous "work for Google" offer, I had four concrete offers, where I knew exactly what team and products I would work on. And one of the teams was in Google's consumer electronics division, a field quite similar to the startup!
So I accepted the Google offer, with the understanding they would place me in that team. While I've heard stories about engineers getting a bait-and-switch, in my case it worked out just like I was promised. I got to join that team, working on consumer electronics, and I'm thrilled with my decision.
So I took my problem, pushed a little, and fell right through. It was illusory! To try to distill my experiences, here are some lessons I learned:
- Reject false dilemmas. Life decisions often involves tradeoffs, but examine them closely. Some tradeoffs may be a construct of your own assumptions.
- If it seems too poetic to be true, it probably is. "Exciting startup vs soul crushing corporate job?" I cringe to re-reread that: clearly I had worked out a narrative in my head, and allowed it to bias me.
- Negotiate, especially at points of high leverage. Negotiating makes me highly uncomfortable, but a few minutes of squirming made all the difference.
Thanks for reading, and I hope my experiences help you in your own choices. I'll be glad to answer any questions here or over PM.
