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A comment on You are an amazing engineer, but you are a terrible fit for our startup. Parent comment

Re:You are an amazing engineer, but you are a terrible fit f... by svachalek on Monday December 03, 2012 @05:35PM (#4868330)
In Germany perhaps this strange beast called "job security" can still be found in the wild. In the US there is no such thing outside of government work, and at a startup the idea is laughable. "Career security" is what you want to think about, making sure you are always up to date and desirable. And also, building up a savings account no matter how difficult that may seem.
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Re:You are an amazing engineer, but you are a terrible fit f... by darklajid on Monday December 03, 2012 @05:57PM (#4868455)
That's a very interesting and good thought.

Maybe my whole point of view is skewed: I'm reasonably safe in my job even without a savings account (got none. Is that a bad idea? Yeah, probably. But that's a different point).

That said, Germany isn't alone in the rules I'd take as granted. What I rely on here is just a decent time between being let go and being without salary. I don't claim to have a lot of experience here, but I know that this exists in various other EU countries and was told that this is common in IL as well, for example.

If you want to fire me, you still need to pay me for a ~reasonable~ amount of time (and I need to work, of course). I'll try to find another job during that time.

Startups seem to have a tendency to go down in flames (what law could order a company that has no money to pay salaries?) or are exempt of a lot of laws that make me feel safe (as I said, here in Germany the law makes it far easier to drop people while you're below a certain, single digit(?) head count).

I'm ignoring your 'build up savings' suggestions. It's a good one. I agree. And if I'll ever manage to do that, I'll either keep it for my family or .. for my own startup (if that might be realistic). It still wouldn't be a cushion to join a startup myself. The point of the OP of this thread seemed to be that you have to find a ratio between decent pay and nice equity. I understand. I agree.

I just think that this totally ignores the cost of searching for another job in this silly "I pay you X. That means that you make X * 12 / year. Let's compare that to the shares now, with various outcomes in the list" kind of posts.

That's ignoring a big issue for the guy signing the contract. Saying 'Yeah, if it goes down you lost $marketValue - $startupSalary' is just .. well .. stupid. Unless you _know_ that there's an instant job opportunity for the guy at the end. No? Nothing nearby / close to family? Nothing that allows enough free time or fits the _basic_ interests of the guy that was let go?

Ah well, that's what a savings account is for, right?

Disclaimer: No personal grudges here, I just don't think that these discussions are .. sensible. In general. Most of the time these arguments are lead from the mind of a 23 year old single with a lot of self esteem and confidence.

I handed my membership card in, a couple of years ago. It's nice on this side of the fence, but the perspective really changes a lot.

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