I began my career with a small company. I then moved on and got a job with a big company for a significantly more amount of money. I stayed there for 1 year and opted to take a 15k paycut to go back to a small company. The paycut left me making more than when I left the first small company, but it goes to show that money isn't always everything. In my opinion, the small company valued quality, hard work and dedication. Everybody is highly visible. When one person does well, the team does well. If one person falters, the team falters. In the small company, I find high pressure, high demands, but all with great satisfaction and pride in my work. In the large company, in my experience at least, there was little value placed on total quality. Also, the politics and the ass-kissing involved was simply not worth it to me. I feel that one's work, not how well they can suck up to their boss, should speak for the value of the individual.
Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, burger in one hand, drink in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO......What a ride!"
