Joining a startup as an employee: How to decide?
cmos: Are you a thrill seeker?  Are you comfortable in a chaotic environment where your future paycheck is not a guaranteed thing?Working for a startup is possibly worse than actually starting your own company.  You are there to watch and participate, and while your fate is unknown, much like the founders, at least they have more control of it.  So you are catching a ride on their bus.  It could go swimmingly well, or it could burn up in horrible flames in 1-X months.If an amazing and chaotic experience is enough to make up for the guaranteed setback in your personal life, then yes, this could be for you.Just don't complain when someone says 'we can't hit payroll' or 'we need to release no matter what'.  You are voluntarily leaving a controlled environment and entering into a triage emergency room.  If you don't release or ship, there is no income, and thus no company.  This is a pressure cooker experience.Your entering into a daily battle where the victories and defeats are real time, in your face, and govern your mood, sleep, and appetite.  For every 'we can't hit payroll' line there is an equal and opposite amazing moment, a moment that you can't get in a typical job, a moment that could best be described as an 'epic win'.If these moments of pure joy are missing from your current job, and you can hack the equal and opposite low moments, then yes, join the startup.  Just know that your taking a gamble, and you will need to enjoy the experience no matter the outcome.  All future jobs will seem trivial in comparison.