Small vs big
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What's the pros and cons of working for small companies vs large corporations? I have always worked for small companies all my life, and now I've been approached by someone at a pretty large company. So I would like to know more about your experiences in how they differ as a work environment.
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
So far I haven't read any replies that are not (IMO) correct. There are definitely pluses and minuses to small and large companies. One thing I haven't seen yet is work hours. As an FTE for a large corporation my personal time was abused. I had to work at least one weekend a month, often two or three -- this became the norm. Of course, this can happen in a small corp as well, but I haven't personally experienced it. I find I'm happiest as a contractor in a small-to-mid-sized company. This has its pluses and minuses as well (doesn't everything?) but it works for me.
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So far I haven't read any replies that are not (IMO) correct. There are definitely pluses and minuses to small and large companies. One thing I haven't seen yet is work hours. As an FTE for a large corporation my personal time was abused. I had to work at least one weekend a month, often two or three -- this became the norm. Of course, this can happen in a small corp as well, but I haven't personally experienced it. I find I'm happiest as a contractor in a small-to-mid-sized company. This has its pluses and minuses as well (doesn't everything?) but it works for me.
I found the work hours to be exactly as you let them be no matter where you work. I have worked a large corps, small corp, government job and on my own though only briefly that last. If you let them at the first work you too much you end up working more and more until you have to draw a line and say NO. Seen it first hand myself and in others. Always the same. The management whatever it is will push you to work until you say nope. Especially when you work for yourself. you can be your own worst boss. As for large verses small. Someone mentions if you can find a niche in a large company where a small department is working as a small company that is about the best of all worlds. My current setup. and the boss is pretty awesome. have fun.
To err is human to really mess up you need a computer
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What's the pros and cons of working for small companies vs large corporations? I have always worked for small companies all my life, and now I've been approached by someone at a pretty large company. So I would like to know more about your experiences in how they differ as a work environment.
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
From my perspective, expect to move slower. Listen a bit more. We finished a job with an Auto Company, and one of our biggest delays were dealing with the Networking people. We actually changed our design to avoid the issue, it was cheaper/better for the users. Also, our default system which allows the user/system to be updated (by hitting a remote repository) was completely disabled by their firewalls. We had to move the repository to inside their firewall... The great thing was that they had NEVER experienced a project finished a month ahead of schedule, and we now get a new project almost every year from this group. Other groups are taking notice. But it will, at some point overwhelm our resources, forcing growing pains upon us. HTH
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What's the pros and cons of working for small companies vs large corporations? I have always worked for small companies all my life, and now I've been approached by someone at a pretty large company. So I would like to know more about your experiences in how they differ as a work environment.
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
Generally, the number of dullards you are forced to interact with is much larger at a large company. Lazy and/or incompetent people can hide away at a large company and linger on, where a small company can't afford to carry the deadweight. That drove me out of the large company thing many years ago. I just can't be the PC person who accepts incompetence. Large companies, as said above, generally have better pay, are more stable, are able to offer some more benefits. They're not as flexible though: at a small company, you have more ability to have an affect (positive or negative), both on the software, but possibly on the culture. That also means more stress at a small company; being a bigger part of the machine means you have more responsibility. Often, if you don't do it, it's not getting done. But, that makes the work more exciting and interesting, too. I don't know how you might, in the interview process, try to ferret out whether this is a "big company trying to maintain a small company's culture", or if they're just a monolith. Maybe glassdoor.com can give some insight?
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I found the work hours to be exactly as you let them be no matter where you work. I have worked a large corps, small corp, government job and on my own though only briefly that last. If you let them at the first work you too much you end up working more and more until you have to draw a line and say NO. Seen it first hand myself and in others. Always the same. The management whatever it is will push you to work until you say nope. Especially when you work for yourself. you can be your own worst boss. As for large verses small. Someone mentions if you can find a niche in a large company where a small department is working as a small company that is about the best of all worlds. My current setup. and the boss is pretty awesome. have fun.
To err is human to really mess up you need a computer
"I found the work hours to be exactly as you let them be no matter where you work." True. But good managers are smart enough to not burn their employees out. Unfortunately there are far too many bad managers out there ... One problem is job culture -- if the manager lives to work, or doesn't but expects everyone else to, it's difficult to say 'no' and keep your job, or get reasonable raises, etc. The one answer that works in every bad situation? Find a different job under a better manager.
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Generally, the number of dullards you are forced to interact with is much larger at a large company. Lazy and/or incompetent people can hide away at a large company and linger on, where a small company can't afford to carry the deadweight. That drove me out of the large company thing many years ago. I just can't be the PC person who accepts incompetence. Large companies, as said above, generally have better pay, are more stable, are able to offer some more benefits. They're not as flexible though: at a small company, you have more ability to have an affect (positive or negative), both on the software, but possibly on the culture. That also means more stress at a small company; being a bigger part of the machine means you have more responsibility. Often, if you don't do it, it's not getting done. But, that makes the work more exciting and interesting, too. I don't know how you might, in the interview process, try to ferret out whether this is a "big company trying to maintain a small company's culture", or if they're just a monolith. Maybe glassdoor.com can give some insight?
In working for a large firm, I found that the stress of being held accountable for things that I have no way to affect was worse. YMMV
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What's the pros and cons of working for small companies vs large corporations? I have always worked for small companies all my life, and now I've been approached by someone at a pretty large company. So I would like to know more about your experiences in how they differ as a work environment.
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
In a big company you have to 1. Learn how to interact with different teams 2. Learn the policies 3. Learn your boundaries with your boss and many coworkers 4. Do you job well 5. Be careful not to step outside of your job responsibilities without permission. 6. Unless you are specifically hired to do exactly what you want to do, you struggle to find time to do what you want to do. 7. An extra side project that benefits the company is often a reason demote you as it shows you aren't focused on your current job. Unless you have permission. See #5. 8. You usually work 40 hours a week. 9. There is very little company recognition. In a small company you have to: 1. Learn how to interact with different people 2. Learn the politics 3. Learn your boundaries with your boss and your few coworkers 4. Do you job well 5. Be willing to step outside of your job responsibilities when needed as you be asked to do so often. 6. Unless you are specifically hired to do exactly what you want to do, you struggle to find time to do what you want to do. 7. An extra side project that benefits the company is often highly praised and heralded for years. 8. You usually work 45+ hours a week. 9. There is quite a lot of company-wide recognition for jobs well done.