HACKER Q&A
📣 glik22

Should I hold out at my current job or leave?


I've been working at a startup for a little over two years now and it has been let's just say not a great experience. The current gossip going around is that we're targeting an IPO at some point in the first half of next year. I'm sure these things are never set in stone and would not be surprised if it gets pushed back.

I have several other offers from public companies with about 30% more pay (salary + bonus + RSUs). I'm having a hard time deciding what to do and have broken it down into two lines of thinking:

Financial: The startup offers more potential but with a bigger risk (duh). I'm having a difficult time determining a formula which will help me feel more comfortable about the financial side of things. For example, if the public company pays the same it's a "no" but if they pay 3x my salary it's an obvious "yes." I'm also trying to factor in the potential IPO price and the amount of shares I'd be relinquishing. A small part of me thinks I could invest in the startup when it IPOs to hedge my bets.

Personal/non-financial: As I said, things at work have not been great. I'm constantly overworked and stressed, and it bleeds into my personal life. Part of that is undoubtedly on me and setting up better boundaries. Things could potentially get better if I joined another team. Even if things are not great, I like the people for the most part and have built up significant social capital. Current state is a known entity, even if that entity is not great.

How would you go about making a decision in this situation?


  👤 stunt Accepted Answer ✓
Have you done anything to improve your situation? Have you talked directly with your manager about your frustrations?

"People leave managers, not companies". Try your manager and you will see if you want to leave him/her or not.