Yeah, you&#x27;re <i>guaranteed</i> significantly more than $52k&#x2F;year in stock working as an engineer at Google.  When you adjust for risk, the $52k&#x2F;year from a startup is probably more like $5k&#x2F;year, or even less.<p>I think people have said over and over again that you shouldn&#x27;t work at a startup for the money.  I hope all the 20-somethings moving to the Bay Area are listening.  It&#x27;s a pretty bad deal for the money, to the point that VCs are writing about it [1].<p>It&#x27;s good to optimize for learning early in you career, to be exposed to different problems, etc.  A sweet spot is to work at a bigger company with quality people (that part is very important), and to also make sure you are launching things, moving around, and learning things.<p>[1] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;blog.samaltman.com&#x2F;employee-equity" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;blog.samaltman.com&#x2F;employee-equity</a>