10000 employees worldwide or 200 employees


Which environment do you think is better to work in?

Why?

12/2/2009 6:41:57 PM

my vote is the environment that gives you the most money

12/2/2009 6:48:05 PM

is 10000 employees world-wide large?

that is a serious non bitchy question, to clarify! i don't know what the definition of "large" is!!!

12/2/2009 7:06:45 PM

depends on what you wanna do.

in my experience, large company = they have a lot more resources, a lot more traveling, a lot more deals..but it's also a lot more structured from what i've seen. more bullshit, but also a lot of room to move up if you get in in the right place

small company = doing a lot more small things and probably doing a larger variety of things.. but won't have the resources to do a lot of things you may want to do and that can get really annoying.

12/2/2009 7:13:28 PM

Quote :

"Which environment do you think is better to work in?"

The better one.

(which has no correlation with size of company)

12/2/2009 7:17:09 PM

As ^ stated, more about the culture of the company than its size. Not true that all large companies behave a certain way or all small companies behave a certain way.

12/2/2009 8:39:43 PM

Quote :

"in my experience, large company = they have a lot more resources, a lot more traveling, a lot more deals..but it's also a lot more structured from what i've seen. more bullshit, but also a lot of room to move up if you get in in the right place small company = doing a lot more small things and probably doing a larger variety of things.. but won't have the resources to do a lot of things you may want to do and that can get really annoying."

12/2/2009 8:42:00 PM

HAY NORM

12/2/2009 9:06:10 PM

Thanks everyone!

12/2/2009 9:21:22 PM

The number of employees is not really what you should base your decision on, but the content of the culture.

I work for NetApp, a very big company, and I can't imagine a cooler place to be. Definitely nothing like the stuck up, rule driven environment that seems to be the stereotype. Beer bash Friday's, time off to do volunteer work, corporate picnics and outings and etc.

I've heard of some small companies that have similar work environments, and not AS much money to spend on extra parties and leisurely hang-out type stuff, but these companies still spend money and do that (I-cubed might be the name of the company I'm thinking of.

12/2/2009 10:29:12 PM

Small

12/2/2009 10:39:30 PM

i was working for koch industries, who had like 80k worldwide

but that included:
invista
georgia pacific
flint hills resources
...others i cant remember

12/2/2009 10:48:09 PM

after working at ibm and a small startup - the startup life is much more fun

if you are lazy though go for the large company

12/2/2009 10:57:51 PM

the largest company i've work for had ~200 people, including the floor people. the smallest was a 10 person startup. startups can be the most fun or the biggest pain, depending on how good the owner is at running a business.

whatever you do, you do NOT want to work for small that thinks they are a big company

[Edited on December 2, 2009 at 11:00 PM. Reason : .]

12/2/2009 10:58:23 PM

I've worked in both, and both have their pros/cons.

Larger companies typically have better/more affordable benefits. However if you are the type that enjoys recognition, sometimes your good work can be overlooked. On the other hand, if you are looking to work at a place where you can get by with the bare minimum, then a larger company is probably a good fit.

Smaller companies usually have no/shitty benefits. But in a smaller company it is a lot easier to get rewarded for your success, with raises and bonuses and such. However, with fewer employees, it is a lot easier to get "on the radar" for poor performance. And depending on how small the company (my last was only 10 employees), everyone knows your business.

12/3/2009 9:34:31 AM

I work with a small company now. I'll agree there is less upper management bullshit and rules. It is also more relaxed. As it was previously mentioned resources are very low - i usually have to do a variety of things i could easily pawn off in a big company.

and this is true

Quote :

"And depending on how small the company (my last was only 10 employees), everyone knows your business."

everybody is in your shit.

[Edited on December 3, 2009 at 10:25 AM. Reason : dd]

12/3/2009 10:24:15 AM

amen on the small company that thinks its big, or is trying to get big rapidly. That really sucks.

12/3/2009 10:24:26 AM

I've worked at both large and small, and the environment, pay, and benefits trump everything else when making a decision between the two. However, I enjoy the team atmosphere of a smaller company and the enhanced visibility. It depends on a lot of variables obviously, but if you take pride in your work and want recognition, the smaller company may be the way to go. I would only choose big over small, all things being equal, if I was worried about the survival of the company.

[Edited on December 3, 2009 at 10:32 AM. Reason : -]

12/3/2009 10:29:39 AM

I kind of have the best of both worlds at my current company. We have a small local team, roughly 15 employees. But we are part of a larger national organization. So we kind of live in our own little world, but have the benefits of a large company.

12/3/2009 10:37:23 AM

My best "office" job was at a company comprised of 5 people, myself included.

12/3/2009 10:38:02 AM

Another big problem with working for a super small company is taking time off or calling in sick. When you are the only person in your office that can do your job, it's pretty hard to take vacations / sick time.

12/3/2009 10:40:30 AM

also watch out in the small companies for the "boss's son/daughter" or "president's son/daughter" situation. They will be a thorn in everything you do.

12/3/2009 11:32:53 AM

I like working in the small companies mainly because I get a lot more say in defining what our software looks like and how it works, new features, ideas etc. And I get more of a sense that I count. Also from my experience with the last two small companies I worked for, you end up working with harder workers (not saying they don't exist in larger companies) because if one person slacks its really easy and quick to see that and see a need to replace them. you also have to wear many 'hats' and I tend to feel that I'm part of a team thats doing whats best for the project/team/company vs. people that are just trying to get ahead no matter who they have to step on to do so. (these are start-up/small companies)

My experience with working with a large company is that there is a ton of bullshit and so much 'process' stuff to go through that nothing gets done, people quantify how much work they got done by how many emails they read and sent out that day, etc.

Quote :

"also watch out in the small companies for the "boss's son/daughter" or "president's son/daughter" situation. They will be a thorn in everything you do."

agreed.

[Edited on December 3, 2009 at 1:10 PM. Reason : .]

12/3/2009 1:10:35 PM

i went with the smaller company

12/3/2009 1:51:34 PM

large companies seem to have better opportunity

12/3/2009 2:06:18 PM

small companies are less likely to block TWW access on company computers.

12/3/2009 4:07:40 PM

Quote :

"also watch out in the small companies for the "boss's son/daughter" or "president's son/daughter" situation. They will be a thorn in everything you do."

oh god you have no idea.

well, maybe you do. but yea, i do too. lol

12/3/2009 4:09:21 PM

Quote :

"small companies are less likely to block TWW access on company computers. "

Try typing in Brentroad.com instead. Works for me

12/3/2009 4:20:53 PM

If their IT group isn't incompetent, the IP itself is blocked.

12/3/2009 4:30:54 PM

i've worked at both large and small companies.

Large typically pays better IMO and there is more opportunity to move up. Small companies still have a lot of bullshit, so don't think you'll be without and the increased visibility can be a bad thing if you're boss loves to micromanage.

I think if you're starting out and you want experience a small company is the way to go because you can really build up your experiences and learn a lot about different departments. this knowledge would prove to be useful down the road when applying for and working in higher positions.

Eventually moving to a larger company will be best because you can continue to expand your career and take it into a new direction. small companies will leave you stagnated past a certain point,especially if your company has a lot of lifetime employees there.

12/3/2009 4:50:37 PM

It really depends on the company and your career path. At the large company I worked at, it was more advantageous to leave the company for the sweeter deal than it was to stay and wait for a promotion. It's definitely case-by-case, although I can see why that may be the case for many.

12/3/2009 4:59:02 PM