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What is it like working for a startup? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) by abbadon420@sh.itjust.works to c/cs_career_questions@programming.dev

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I just had an interview with a startup, where I would be working as a junior fullstack engineer. However, the most senior person in the company (of 4 devs) has three years experience in software, and comes from an electrical engineering background. They work a lot with AI, but they are looking to bring more structure in the code. I am supposed to work with AI also and I get to work on all three applications that they have. I said I don't vibecode, I can use AI,but I need to know what I'm doing. They said I don't have to vibecode, but sometimes they need fast delivery.

This would be my first real job. I've been working as a tutor for 4 years, so I've seen a lot of simple code and greenfield code, and I've written texts and taught classes. So I have some valuabke experience. I was looking for a job in an enterprise company where I can learn from seniors, but this might also be a valuable way to learn a lot of stuff. It seems kind of rigity, but also flexible.

I'm wondering if anyone can share their experience working in a startup. Is it only chaos and misery, or is it also a good environment to learn a lot very fast?

Edit: they went with the other applicant :(

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[–] Bo7a@piefed.ca 10 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Startups are often the fiefdoms of a single-minded narcissist who believes their gut reactions are the same as skills and experience.

Sometimes this works out, but most of the time it just leads to a team that was excited to build something together getting their projects smashed and destroyed by someone who has no idea what the results will be, but is certain that the experts are wrong.

Then as the mission creep sneaks up on them they will usually hire more of their management friends (more layers of management will surely get the product out faster than the scientists and engineers working on it)

Then the team that managed to build something useful gets let go for a few juniors to 'save runway' as the managerial vultures soak up any running capital and pour it into advertising for a product they don't have working (advertising to investors instead of consumers) right up until the last minute when the C-levels yank the rug out and take whatever they can from their comp package and go destroy another startup.

This is a big part of the reason startups that 'make it' are such news-worthy stories

The circle of life.

[–] one_old_coder@piefed.social 3 points 1 week ago

That guy definitely startuped, listen to him OP.