Bad time to be an early employee?

At least amongst my friends, the equity portion % has mostly stayed the same as past years, but the cash comp has gone up significantly. That sort of makes sense to me.

But in the end, if you have a great exit, your 0.1% or whatever equity should still beat your cash compensation. But again, not everyone gets to have an exit where their equity is worth something, much less a great one where the equity is worth a lot.

The excess money is also driving huge exits, so you're missing half of the picture.

> My intuition is that the smart thing to do right now is one of: (1) take large pay packages at more established tech companies, (2) negotiate substantial equity comp if you really want to join an early stage company, or (3) be a founder or founder-adjacent.

These are all very different career paths that aren't even open to everyone who wants them. VC valuations probably aren't going to be the thing that moves the needle on any decision making.

Another variable is the kind of work you want to do.

Want to be hyper specialized? A medium company in that field or a FAANG will be your best bet. You'll probably well paid for your specialization, compared to median dev salaries. At a small company, even in your preferred field, you’ll wear many hats. Which might be to your liking as well.

If I were working for a startup, I would want a decent pay package plus equity. By decent I don't mean FAANG, but at least the national median.