I went and read it because you're one of my favorite posters/commenters, and really enjoyed it and learned - so thank you.
The title is underwhelming though. The piece is a lot better than the title - author does realistic math on the range stock options are likely to be worth, then discusses whether it makes sense to jump into a risky venture with a chance of a big win, and talks about what to look for in more stable learning gigs if you're not going for a big win. Then he tells some stories, and he also mentions some nice specific points to think about ("accelerated vesting on change of control" - that one seems very important to me after reading this).
So yeah, very good piece, underwhelming title, but it's definitely worth a read.
There is so much career crap that comes through the internet, and this is the most practical piece I've read in a long time. So many decisions can be concluded by simply asking the question of the post title.
The best one to make, I assume, is if you can both earn and learn.
> If you really want to earn you need to be in the top 3-4 in the company. Best to be a founder.
The most important line of the article. If you're not on the conference calls and meetings that involve money, you're a sucker. They are hiding things from you.
Work a 9-5 and "learn" on your own time - or better yet, learn as part of the job where you're paid what you're actually worth. Many developers need to learn how to grow a spine and not work to make other (startup) people rich.
Likewise, if you work a 9-5 and don't have time to "learn", you're a sucker. What the HELL (!!!) are you doing working your ass off for a megacorp? This is something of a false dichotomy.
> If you're not on the conference calls and meetings that involve money, you're a sucker.
The article's point is that if you want to make enough money to retire, you're not going to do that with << 1% equity vesting over four years. That does not mean you're a "sucker"; you just need to be taking a job like that for the right reasons.
> learn as part of the job where you're paid what you're actually worth
For many of the jobs in question, we're talking about significantly more than $100,000 annual salary, plus stock options and benefits. For most people, that's not exactly being screwed.
