sean on 06/12/2003:

I certainly hope you aren't serious.

I work at a company where I am nameless in a sea of cubes. It's downright depressing. I have no control over anything. Projects get passed down and then cancelled in the same day.

You don't want to work at Big Company Incorporated, trust me. The extra 10k a year may look nice now but don't base a decision to jump ship on that. Sometimes it isn't always about the money. Your environment plays a huge part. If it treats you well now, don't change it.

Adam on 06/12/2003:

I disagree with the previous. I worked at the little place for several years and it was hell. I never knew how valued I was (realized I wasn't) and I knew that people were getting axed and so forth because of bad money management and such.

Now that I'm working for the Big Boys that have several decades of computing fun under their belt and a few billion in the bank, I feel much better. I'm not even a nameless geek due to my small team. Good money, good job, good security.

That, and being such a large corporation NO ONE treats anyone badly. If they do just go to HR and use the word "lawsuit" or "sue" in casual conversation and life is suddenly just fine.

The whole small-business startup "fight the machine" bullshit is just that. Some anti-establishment freaks who don't want to work for a large institution. Oh well. I'll have food on the table in the mean time. =)

Jen on 06/13/2003:

I can tell you from experience that working a miserable job will make you feel miserable, which has a very good chance of making your life miserable.

I used to be a cog for AIG on Water Street and it was the worst two years of my life. Commuting from Chelsea to Wall Street every day was torture, never feeling appreciated and often being subjected to managers who would make my group look bad in order to look good themselves was demoralizing, being a faceless resource was dehumanizing.

My opinion? Don't do it. Money isn't everything, and when it comes to personal happiness, it's nothing.

• Jen

n3verm0re on 06/13/2003:

There seems to be an even split so far. I've spent the last two weeks doing some freelance work with Garrett, and he's being very conservative with his complaints. Get out of there ASAP!

Steve on 06/14/2003:

I agree with that. Get out of there ASAP, you just have to start sending out your resume. From what I am hearing it is a dead-end, and it will probably only get worse.

The whole large Inc. vs. small shop is a little extreme. I think both extremes have their definite disadvantages, as the previous posts kind of show.

All of your experience with small companies has been single-digit employee count, and both put a lot of pressure on you. But a company of 10-30 is also considered a small company. I think in those companies you will find better results in respect to relieving the work amount. Plus, find a company on the way up rather than on the way down; that will help money issues.

Paige on 06/16/2003:

Take it from someone as unemployed as I am right now...if you don't already have a DEFINITE job lined up, don't even think about giving your old job up. As we all know, the current job market is worse than bad and I find it very hard to believe that it's gonna get any better any time soon. But then again, that could just be the bitterness talking.

J ferrara on 06/18/2003:

Can anyone e-mail me with an aprox salary of a
worker with 20 years in the company specializing in fiber optics.
Thanks