Pros and cons of getting a job at a very small software company? (14 employees)

Submitted ⁨⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨BurningnnTree@lemmy.one⁩ to ⁨nostupidquestions@lemmy.world⁩

I have the opportunity to maybe get a job as a software developer at a small software company that employs 14 people. But my gut is telling me that getting a job at a small company like that might he terrible. Do you guys have any experiences working at companies that small?

In my mind, I imagine the CEO would have a very large presence at the company and everyone would feel a lot of pressure to appease him. I imagine that the whole company would just be a boys’ club. But I guess any company can be like that, so maybe I’m jumping to conclusions, and the size of the company isn’t actually related to company culture?

Please let me know if you have any thoughts.

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scytale@lemm.ee ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
It’s a two-edged sword for sure.

The good:

Lots of room for creativity, innovation, and change. But as others mentioned, this depends on the company culture.

Less red tape because of the shorter line up the organization.

Faster promotion track if the company grows and you’ve already established yourself. You can also get a huge payout if the company is acquired in the future.

The bad:

Possibly not as organized vs a company with an established support group (admin, payroll, HR, etc.).

People having to perform multiple roles due to having fewer personnel.

As a counter to the 2nd bullet in the pro section, having to deal directly with top management means you’re more exposed to politics.

Possibly lower pay. But you said they’ve been around for 2 decades so maybe they’re paying well, and I’m sure you’ve considered the pay already.
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- treadful@lemmy.zip ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  
  People having to perform multiple roles due to having fewer personnel.
  
  A pro in my book. I like the diversity of work rather than getting pigeon-holed into some very niche little task that I would have to do day in and day out.
  
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  - scytale@lemm.ee ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
    For sure, but it depends if you actually want to do the additional work assigned to you. It’s all good, until you’re being asked to do some administrative stuff like help Jen from accounting on company finances because it’s tax season. Or finish some paperwork for the lease on the building the company is renting.
    
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- dan1101@lemm.ee ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  Also there may be very good coworkers or very bad coworkers, you’ll probably work closely with either.
  
  And things will probably be a lot more informal.
  
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- kevincox@lemmy.ml ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  I really like this list. But another thing is job security. Generally the larger the company the more likely it is to continue existing.
  
  This is more important for VC-funded startups that are more likely to run out of cash than continue existing, but is still true of established profitable companies.
  
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fodderoh@lemmy.world ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
As you’ve already touched on, company culture is everything at small companies. If you fit in well, you’ll love it. If you don’t, you’ll hate it. I would ask to talk to other people in the company besides the CEO and talk to them about what working there is like and what kind of person would fit in well. If the CEO (I’m assuming that is who you are interviewing with) balks at the Idea, that right there tells you something.

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neptune@dmv.social ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Small companies are great. Opportunities for growth. Always the chance to switch to a bigger company later.

In my experience the micromanaging is LESS at a smaller company. No middle managers who have to justify their existence.

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- BearOfaTime@lemm.ee ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
  It really depends on the owner.
  
  SMB owners tend toward arrogance and micromanaging, as a group. This isn’t a cricism - these are traits that enabled them to start a business and keep it going.
  
  Of course, every business is different.
  
  SMB won’t be as structured as a larger business, and will likely operate with more flexibility.
  
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Num10ck@lemmy.world ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
pros - you can make a big impact and less strict processes.

cons - you cant just pass the buck and hide, you couldnt say ‘thats not in my job description’ just he ready to wear random hats when needed.

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zod000@lemmy.ml ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago

I’m in this exact situation now and have been for many years, while previously in a gigantic company…

Pros:

You (hopefully) tend to have significantly more influence on the tech stack and software direction. 

You're (hopefully) treated like a real person and not a cog in the corporate machine.

You (hopefully) get to learn and do a larger variety of things.

Cons:

Pay can be lower, and getting raises can be harder when you're talking directly to the CEO/Owner and it is quite literally coming out of his or her pocket.

Taking leave tends to be harder when there is so few people to pick up the slack.

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Ilflish@lemm.ee ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Clique culture in small companies is pretty common. It might not be boys club but there’s no middle man to protect Devs from those in charge so there’s always going to be pressure to hang out if everyone is or to work overtime. You have to work in that clique culture but you don’t have to always say yes as long as you are friendly about it. The phrase “being firm” has never sight right with me for these as it’s the antithesis of friendliness you can be loose and say no and if it’s brought up again stay loose and continue to say no. You don’t need an excuse but a loose excuse is works well.

Security is obviously always scary but the tech landscape does not really have that anyway. Realistically if the only worry is it’s a small company and everything else is good, take it. If you find that you don’t fit into the small team flow, then you can continue looking in the future.

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AgentGrimstone@lemmy.world ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I worked in one for 6 years. The best thing was getting close to my coworkers, I’m still in contact with some of them to this day. The worst thing was the compensation. Can’t get more money when there’s none to go around.

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eyeon@lemmy.world ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
the biggest downside imo is it can be hard to leave because you’ll feel more connected to everyone involved. but they won’t necessarily be able to pay you much more than you start at even if you do stay. and you’ll be spending that time on more or less the same tech stack which can limit your growth and make it harder when finding a new job later.

id say it’s fine especially as an early job but strongly consider a new job after 2-4 years

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Deestan@lemmy.world ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Whether the culture is good or bad is not strongly indicated by the size. You’ll get a good feel by meeting them. Prepare some questions on turnover and overtime use. You want both low.

You will have to do work that in a bigger company would be specialist work. Some possible examples: Maintain infrastructure, drag network cables, purchase your computer, negotiate with service providers, software architecture, UX, product strategy, frontend, backend, integrations, customer support, QA, etc. All this could be heaven or hell based on your personality. :)

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dhork@lemmy.world ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Pros: there shouldn’t be a lot of red tape or layers of middle management to deal with. If you have an idea, you know exactly who you have to convince to get them to buy in. Your contributions will have a visible impact right away. If you get along well with the team it may seem like too much fun to really be work.

Cons: resources will likely be scarce. The “IT Department” might just be Ed, one of the greybeard Linux guys. (or worse yet, Ed might have just retired, and they think you’re the new Ed). There are only a handful of people “in charge” and if you don’t get along with them you may not be able to get much done.

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macrocarpa@lemmy.world ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Very small is 3 people. It’s a small company.

My experience working in a dev company exactly that size -

Pros

Less dead wood (people not carrying their own weight).

Everyone knows everyone well, it’s a tight team

Think it, do it - quick to develop and respond

Less pressure

Feels a bit like a family

More chilled than corporate esp. working from home

More support of networking and linking up with industry peers

Higher degree of trust and support

Way more latitude to do what you want to do

Easy to influence senior leadership

Can offer things like equity etc

If you’re a high performer you will be noticed

Way less red tape

A lot more trust

Company can prosper if everyone works hard

Cons

Company favourites

Can be quite political, although far less so than some large organisations I’ve worked for

Less cover if you’re on leave or similar

Harder to get some things done if money is needed (lower budgets and thinner reserves)

Lower remuneration, fewer levers to pull to get a salary increase

More drama with paychecks etc

Fewer higher skilled people to learn from

Culture can go sideways quickly

Nowhere near the same level of support and benefits provided by the big companies

Tend not to attract the best and brightest talent

Comoany more impacted by economic conditions

It also greatly depends on you and your preferred style. Some people just outright don’t like working for big businesses and prefer smaller gigs.

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CetaceanNeeded@lemmy.world ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I worked for a small software company for 6 years after finishing uni. I was the first person the founders hired. It was a great time and I learnt a lot and got to make a lot of decisions and had a lot of freedom.

But they didn’t pay anywhere near as much as a corporate job so when I got offered significantly more money to work for a very large company the small company couldn’t match it and pushed me to take it as a huge career and development opportunity.

It’s been great working at the big company but I really miss the culture and involvement I had at the small company.

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hperrin@lemmy.world ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
I’ve worked at two smaller companies like that. I had a great experience at one of them, and a mediocre experience at the other one. So, I feel like it’s probably just hit or miss depending on the company.

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reddig33@lemmy.world ⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago
Pros — probably more influence over the quality of the product. You won’t be answering as much to marketing.

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