I spent 4 years working for Accenture. That was a little longer than I should have stayed, but, in agreement with this article, I did learn a lot of things which are still useful in my startup life today. I also have numerous friends who are very happy with corporate life, and for some of them, I'm certain that's the right choice for them.
The key take-aways from corporate life, according to this article, are (with my comments in italics):
- You learn a lot
- You get to work with clever people (depends where you work)
- You build a network of former colleagues
- You have lots of perks (working in your pyjamas can also be a perk for some)
- You learn the art of politics
- You have time to reflect (it doesn't feel like that if it's your first job, though)
- You get a baseline from which to improve.
Good points all around for a very valid article. Spending a couple of years working for a corporation can teach you useful skills for startup life. That said, if you have a great startup to work for, and you know that's what you want to do, you'll probably learn even more at the startup.
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