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Which is the best to start off as a fresher?

MNC vs Start-Up, Which one should I choose as a Fresher?

  • I am in my 20's and it's been since 6 months, I passed out of my College as a Undergraduate. While I was in my Final Year of Computer Science & Engineering, I got through Campus Interview selection process and placed in one of India's Top MNC (like Infosys / TCS / Wipro, etc.,). Right from my childhood (where I was introduced to computers for playing games), I wished I should be part of developing something that most people uses. And when I was studying 8th grade, where I was introduced to Programming Language ( typically C / C++ / Visual Basic ). I became passionate about programming since then and I wanted to become a good programmer and my interest towards Computer Science increased rapidly. I chose Computer Science Engineering for my Under-graduate and got introduced to various subjects. And as mentioned at the beginning, I got job opportunity from one of the Top Indian MNC company. I am using lot of open source technologies, right from the Operating system I use is a Gnu/Linux distro, I am doing my programs using Python. I myself feel, Open source methodology is good. My Date of Joining has been delayed and it's nearly going to be a year since I was placed in that company. I even got offers from 2 - 3 start-ups with attractive salary. But I want a good workplace, good number of people around me in the workplace, so that I would enjoy programming and have fun with them as well. This is where I am struck. If I choose MNC, I would not get to work in the platform which I would love to, but will have good number of people around me to have fun and the Company will definitely hold a Bond for 2 years, so what If I do not like the type of work or If I am more stressed to leave the company ? If I am choosing a start-up, I would get to work in something which I love and I also have lot of opportunity to learn things (in terms of technology, rather than MNC's sticking to legacy technologies, even though if they do, the probability that I would be getting to work in current trends is less), but with less number of people around me and I would be missing fun. The reason why I want a reasonable amount of people around me is to avoid stress during work and to be motivated always. P.S:- I am from a Middle class family living with my Mother (who is working) and Grand-Mother, I am in a position to earn to run my family.

  • Answer:

    I agree completely with Karthik's answer. I had offers from two top MNCs, both of which were service-oriented companies, like TCS/Infy/Wipro. I accepted the offer from one of them and was waiting for my DoJ, just like you. That's when I got a chance to interview at my current company, which is pretty much like a startup itself and more importantly, is a products-oriented  company, which makes all the difference. The kind of amazing work environment and fun you will have at a products-oriented firm, which is what a number of startups tend to be these days, is leagues ahead of any kind of fun you will have at a services-oriented MNC, you can trust me on that! I had the same choice that you are facing now and I am glad to say I made the right decision. My job is pretty much the envy of all my friends working in MNCs like the ones you described ;) Plus, as you said, you'll have a tremendous learning experience since you will have a first hand view at seeing how a startup is run. Since you aim to be an entrepreneur, this kind of experience will be invaluable when you decide to launch your own startup. However, be prepared to work your ass off at a startup. You should not expect a cushy 9-5 job when you sign up for a startup role. So you need to figure if the job you are taking on is something that you are passionate about. In an MNC, you will be a drone and will have a comfortable life, but growth will be slow and you can pretty much wish goodbye to your aim of being an entrepreneur, since it will become hard for you to keep that fire in you alive. Make your choice.

Ankush Saxena at Quora Visit the source

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Found these pictures somewhere on the internet. They describe the difference between a startup and MNC in the best possible manner. None is better than other in general. You should choose whatever you find more apt to your lifestyle. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

Charmi Sahni

I think I am pretty qualified to answer this since I have been there at the cusp of the transition/dilemma you are under.Let me tell you my story, highlighting some points Started up in college when I was 19, got funded by the Univ Incubation cell for a 3 year runway Enter Final year, I enter into this start-up vs job dilemma, end up taking 2 MNC offers in the 1st month of placements at Barclays Bank & Polaris Consulting Enter Last Sem, which was also a Project/Internship sem, decide to quit my startup dream for now & rather work for a START-UP. Joined India’s 2nd largest Assessment Co as a part of the product team/founders team. Enter 16 months of work ex- have 3 promotions, built 1 core business line, worked with 3 Fortune 100 clients. Also co-worked with India’s 2 largest VC’s as of now + met tons of people who’ve built great Software, sold deals for Millions or scaled multiple teams across multiple functions Now, my question to anyone out there is that can you do this working for a large Enterprise/IT/ITES giant? Yes, you can but the question is how long?Now imagine doing all this at a startup in a span of 16 months. I agree that my friends working at Oracle, Microsoft may/may not even have an idea of the B2B Companies I have worked/working for. But the answer is, that I am happy doing this. I am happy to learn, happy to grow naturally.When babies are born, they grow naturally, decide the baby you want to be. Growing fast/Growing slow? And at the end of all this do think and Always do anything that makes you happy as a person! All the best!

Abhishek Bhaduri

Don't join big companies if you are interested in open source my two cents!

Vini Katyal

I just saw this album on facebook by page https://www.facebook.com/wittyfeed which perfectly explains differences between MNC and Startups .

Prem Gupta

If you talk to some co-founder of some startup company, I can say u will get answers like u will get more challenging work and get to learn more but there more than that which you can learn in startup. I have worked both in startup and MNC. As a technology learning person, I like working more in startup as you have more independence in choosing and deciding. But it was not like for me that when i worked in MNC i did not learn anything. It is always depends on priority. I think not to follow only money. One should look and think options before taking either to go for which one depending upon priority. I have learnt technically lot in startup. That will help me to stay in this habit for long time. But in MNC as i got good managers i got a chance to learn good management (How to get work done from other people, which is very hard learning skill) and learnt to see how people make their network. you will get to know that communication skills with people. You will know the difference why this MNC has grown from startup to MNC.  These 4 things as per me can not be learnt in startup. Only thing i did not like in MNC that you have to show more than work. But still i recommend as a fresher one should prefer startup as u first go to learn technology learn how hard you can work you can know company deeply. How to start company and build a product which is in demand. That will let your mind think more. As a fresher one has more time to give to something they like. So if one technology savvy guy i would say he must go for some technology startup. Actually startup work hard and smartly also and MNC work smartly but not hard.

Rajeev Singh

MNCs tend to have processes and structures in place. If you are starting your work life, this could be helpful to get you accustomed to corporate life, work culture, business communications, etc. Also, MNCs have formal training programs, employee development plans in place to help you grow. Startups, owing to resource crunch, provide you wider area where you can shine. If you have jugaad ability, ability to think out of box, then you can grow rapidly. There will be pressure on outcome (always a need to work extra!). Also, the remuneration, though similar initally, could differ in terms of long term. You (may) get (relatively higher than MNC) stake in a startup, which, at the time of valuation (a high risk), gives rich returns. Finally, the domain/industry of choice can also help decide. As an example, startups in technology domain or environmental industry are doing lot of innovation.

Vishal Haria

If earning money is your first priority, then join the start-ups, by putting a clause that you will be quitting the job when you get the call from MNC. So that they will have a clear mind when you let them that you are quitting. Also tell them that you might be coming back after quitting the job from MNC for any reason apart from joining another one. Regarding fun I would agree with Karthik, fun depends more on us than others. Best of Luck!

Nayan S Velde

hi thanks for a2a.This is a dilemma of choosing passion vs secured life.After reading all your concerns I'd recommend you to choose a start-up which is into a technology you really love. Now all the start-ups are paying a decent salary. Work for 2 years and get into a established company. Not only you get a better hike but also a secured work life balance. There will be fewer deadlines as MNCs have huge number of people to share the responsibility.Start-ups will give you the necessary experience and MNCs will give an opportunity to use that.P.S: Choose a start-up which pays a decent salary and works on latest technology. Cause that's how you can compensate the opportunity cost you lost by not choosing an MNC.ATB

Pavan Kumar Vytla

In startups you start from the beginning along with the company. There are lots of learning curve. As the company is new lots of market research on technology,people and areas for improvement is taken into consideration. In MNC everything is set for you, you just have to go work what is allocated to you. In startup you are free to give you ideas as it is more of collaborative work.Imagine the amount of expertise and experience you will gain in evolving that startup into a technology giant.

DigvijaySingh Chauhan

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