Startup or MNC — Which one is best for college freshers

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You may think this is another article that will compare Startup vs MNC, but it’s more than that. This is my story. I went through the same situation on the starting day of my career: Startup OR MNC? When I was in the same position to choose between them, the decision that I made, I think it’s good for me when looking back now. So the things that I will be going to share definitely help you to choose whenever you will fall in the same situation.

I graduated during the 2019 pandemic. That time, getting a job in a good company was challenging for our batch. We were not able to attempt any on-campus interviews even though the campus was closed. So the challenge for all of us is to at least get a job in any company to have at some level of satisfaction of being placed.

I started my career in the IT field by joining a startup — technically! The experience with the startup was quite incredible! I remember that it was the final semester, and I was preparing for an exam. Reading notes, doing some coding practices, and day after day were going just like the day before. That day I was just checking the college WhatsApp group and found one job posting from one of my friends. She posted — one of the startups is looking for a web developer, and the company is working on AI domain. Later I found that it was co-founded by one of our college alumni. I took that opportunity and sent my resume by email.

The same day in the evening, I got a Hello! from the other side, and the conversation started. The interviewer shared one requirement with me and asked me to describe in simple words what I understood from that. I read it a couple of times, messaged my friend, and explained what I understand. I remember after 5–10 minutes later, I replied back, he liked the answer.

Next, he gave me one problem statement and asked me to solve it with any coding language that I am comfortable with. Back then, I practiced more on PHP (Yes, you heard right; it’s still relevant in 2023 for me, and 60–70% of websites on the internet run in it). Then after two to three counter questions, finally, the conversation ends. And I am waiting for a response. A new message pops up saying that you are being selected amongst 150 or so candidates they interviewed. I told my mummy that I got selected. The happiness that I saw on her face was priceless.

Now the interviewer reveals that he is also my super senior in college, and the interview he just took for his friend’s company. His friend is the co-founder and CTO of the company that I just got selected for.

Later that same night, I got a message from the co-founder and CTO of the company for a further onboarding process, and he also asked me to meet the rest of the team in their office.

So this is my kind of short story of how I got an official entry in any real-life project and overall into the IT field.

I worked with them for the first project for six to eight months. The first project is an internal company portal that was previously built in Python, and my job is to convert that into a web version with additional new features. By the completion of this, I got a certificate of completion and 10k. Yeah, my first salary! 😊.

After the first project, they asked me to join their team officially and work on another ongoing project, now this time with an actual client from the USA. I started a second project with them. In between, I also got a chance to meet with their CEO. It was the next level of excitement for me.

Meanwhile, back then, I was also applying for various companies. After a while, I qualified for an entry-level freshers job and reached the HR round of one big MNC. I remember that day when I just got back from an HR interview and having confidence that it goes great!. I was on my way back home and saw a message from one of the members of the startup saying that soon you will be going to receive an offer letter from them, and I received payment for that second project (at that time, the second project was nearly done).

Now the situation is that I am confident that I cleared the final interview in MNC and here I got an offer letter from the startup. They are also offering me a very promising salary and the scope of a good future ahead.

Now after 2 days, I received a call from HR from that MNC saying you are being selected!! and received an offer letter by email. TWO offer letters in hand, Situations are getting worse.

I talked with my parents, had a couple of calls with college teachers and friends. One thing for sure, it’s getting harder and harder to choose between one of them. With the startup, it is not a kind of job but a huge learning curve, a turning point for my career which I am still thankful for. During my days with the startup, I frequently interacted with the founder, CTO-like person. The CTO of the startup is my college senior, and during both projects that I worked with them, he is kind of more than a mentor for me.

I even talked with him about making a decision between joining a Startup or an MNC. He explained the pros and cons of both sides. And the final decision that I took later is a reflection of that conversation that I had with him.

With a Startup — Promises a good future ahead in terms of exposure you get in the near future, it is far more than any other MNC or large corporation that you will be working for. You will be playing an all-rounder role. You can directly talk with clients, gather their requirements, and be a part of all the processes in the project. Sometimes you will be a Manager, Team lead, Tester, and so on. That role will give you a broad exposure to all the steps involved during any project

In comparison with larger organizations as you will be joining as a fresher, you will be working in a team under some team lead and they will handle all the process.

By reading the above, you will say, “Raj, you are saying that joining a startup is a good idea for a future in terms of knowledge in a broad perspective 🤔”? But hey, wait!!

I am about to give a conclusion and my final thought on the above comparison. Joining a startup gives an extra edge over other people who are starting a career with a large organization. But thinking on the other side, large organizations are a good idea. Yeah, I am saying that as someone who started his career with a startup.

In my experience, joining an MNC has different advantages in your career. With a startup, you also have uncertainty in your career, like most of the new startups’ success rate is very low, even when we see that many close within 5 years after they were founded. Many things cause that issue, like funding, conflict between founders, disagreements between investors, lack of a broad vision for the future, inability to retain previous customers/clients, etc. All of that can land you in a very difficult position in your career. You either look for a new job or stick with a startup till the very end. And searching for a new company is challenging when you’ve just started your career.

So the conclusion is

My advice to any freshers is that you must choose any large organization/MNC as a starting point in your career. Unless you have an offer from a big startup that has a strong internal company structure, has been running in the industry for more than 5–8 years, and yes, do your own research about that company before making a decision.

Finally, the million-dollar question: did I still work with that startup? No! I joined an MNC after completing a second project with them.