just to give an argument for the option most folks are not choosing.

I work for a huge old company and here are some of the benefits:

• Good pay
• Great work/life balance. putting in over 40hrs/week is unheard, no crunch time
• Size of the company allows for movement to different tech areas
• Very stable, great job security

Now granted, we are totally WFH, don’t think I would be willing to do an in-person job with a suit every day, but there is an argument to make for making more money when you’re younger that you can start investing early.

The lack of bleeding edge tech could also be used to your advanced if you could spearhead leading a more modern initiative.

I’m not sure how large the pay difference is, but it sounds like your heart is leaning towards the start up.

In the end, you’ll just have to weigh the positives and negatives and figure out what you truly want.