Beware of the Silicon Valley cult
By now everyone knows that expected payoff of working at a start-up is the same or lower than a big company, but with much higher variability.  Everyone knows this.The thing is though, no matter where you work, as a professional you'll spend 50+ hours a week working.  The satisfaction you get from that time matters a lot to your happiness and sense of satisfaction.  You could work at a large soul destroying company that MUST pay you more because you have to put up with their BS, or you could work at a small company where you can look the founder in the eye and tell him or her to change something you don't like (as this article disparagingly puts it, change the culture in two weeks).  And the founder is going to listen because everyone on the team is dedicated to the same mission.  Really where are you going to be happier?The fact that start-up payoff is even remotely equivalent to big company salaries tells me start-ups are a great choice if you value things like your happiness, sense of accomplishment, self-esteem, impact on the world, etc.