Think Twice Before Joining Large Companies as a Junior Engineer

In our undergrad life, we often hear about companies like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and dream of working there someday.

Most of us don’t get the chance to work there because getting into those companies is very tough. Those who get there are definitely talented!

Sure it’s a great experience to work in these companies, but behind every light, there is a shadow. And we need to talk about that part of the equation too!

Today we will talk about why you should not work in these big companies as a fresher. This is a one-sided discussion, so don’t get offended!

Less Scope to Try Out Things

At the beginning of your career, you don’t have a clear vision or path of what you will do. It’s tough to know what you enjoy if you don’t even get to try it.

In smaller companies, you can (or sometimes have to) do multiple things. You can try out many things. They are open to trying out new technologies and ideas. But that’s not the case in huge corporations. They are already using some technology that is well-established, and it’s hard for them to switch.

I agree that this can have some downsides too. If you have to switch to too many things, then you become good at nothing. Many will tell you to master one skill really well and then branch out.

But what if the skill you are mastering is a very custom and company-specific technology that nobody else uses?

So I think it’s better to try out things like crazy at first. Just scratch the surface of as much technology as possible for the first 1/2 year. Then take a deep dive into one.

This way, you can make your career safe. Because no matter how great your current company is, the truth is you will switch maybe after 2–3 years anyway. So get prepared for that early on.

More Political Environment

Larger organizations tend to have a political environment there. Conflict of interest can ruin a junior developer's career and confidence.

These politics are part of the process. I am not saying that this is bad or something. Because sometimes politics is important to maintain a healthy competition. But junior developers don’t always have the maturity to handle these situations properly.

In a larger organization, there must be some hierarchy. You have a boss who has a boss and so on. And sometimes, you become the scapegoat; if you find yourself in a great team where your manager is great, and the other teams you are collaborating with are also great, then fine.

As a junior dev, your job is only to focus on your work. Some soft skills are acquired eventually with experience. But raw technical skill doesn’t come with experience. Focus on that!

Because of these reasons, actual learning can be hampered, which is the single most important thing at the beginning of the career.

Failure to Understand the Bigger Picture

When you are part of a large organization, you are just a small part of a huge machine. You only know about the part of the machine you work on because it’s so huge that it is hard to comprehend even with years of experience.

But when you are working for a start-up, you are exposed to various parts of the development lifecycle. Sometimes you are designing a database—sometimes, designing API. Even you may have to do direct meetings with clients.

This is a great learning opportunity. Especially if you are ambitious and want to have your own business someday. Being in a large company, it’s almost impossible.

So having this kind of exposure to different parts of the system is beneficial for your future. And prepares you more for the future.

Smaller Companies Can Move Fast

It’s easier for smaller companies to take risks. They have very little overhead. You can implement something within a short amount of time.

Yes, This can get really messy and annoying if you are not following proper guidelines. But if your company has a great culture of following best practices, this can be a huge boost.

This way, you spend less time explaining and meeting and more time building the actual feature. And this is the one and the only thing that is important for innovation. Trying out things.

Think of Facebook or Google. Do you think they could kickstart their journey if they just researched the market to make sure their idea will work? Probably not.

In general, smaller companies have less to lose. Because of these reasons, they think out of the box. And you get to be a part of that exciting journey.

This innovative mindset changes a person’s view of any problem tremendously! Later in life, they can face weird problems with more confidence because they are trained and tested!

Career Safety

This is the most important thing. Even if you start your career with Google or Microsoft, you will be working on proprietary technology that is only used by those companies.

If you intend to stay there for the rest of your life, it’s fine, but that's usually not the case. Even google’s employees don’t stay there for so long despite their great benefits.

This is not Google’s fault or anything. People get bored working in the same company. So they switch. But what’s next?

Sure, when you have Google on your resume, you get your next job pretty easily, but you have to start learning everything from scratch because the rest of the world is not using Google’s proprietary technology.

So if you are switching your career after years of experience, then it’s easier for you. But for junior devs, this can become hectic. So why not join Google after gaining some experience?

These are my reasoning for not working in large companies as a fresher. What are your thoughts?

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