Is it Better to Work in a Small or in a Large IT company?

This is not one of those yes or no questions, the answers is "it depends". The world is not black and white, one size does not fit all and as adults we often need to make trade-offs and compromises. In this blog post, I will try to list both pros and cons when it comes to working for smaller IT companies, compared to working for a larger IT company. You know, different strokes for different folks and all that. We all have rather unique needs and motivations and while one person might thrive in a more casual environment, that same atmosphere could hamper someone else's growth. 

Working in a Small Company

Since it is easier to manage a smaller number of people, there will be less management layers and generally, smaller companies have less official administrative procedures involved - for example, getting your vacation approved might be just a matter of checking with your team and updating the company's calendar. Another thing typical for smaller companies is that the people get to know each other better and form more of a tight-knit community, if you're a recluse this might not work for you. It will usually be easier to reach out to the people in charge directly, without going trough several layers of hierarchy. This will also mean that you are more visible to your CEO (or whatever is the title for the person in charge) which can be good for some people and may make others uncomfortable, for me this was a good thing. A smaller company might not be able to pay you as much and you might be having harder time getting required resources, but from my experience this is not always the case - there are small companies which  are very profitable and offer pretty good compensation, but this is an important factor you should always have in mind. Additionally, in terms of career growth in smaller companies, due to a less strict and not-so-formal atmosphere, you may not get official career growth plan and might have to put more personal effort into forming one. If you want a transfer your options might be limited in a small company, due to obvious reasons. Lastly, if the company has only one client (or a single source of revenue), losing that source of income can have negative impact on your job security. To summarize, if you like more of a relaxed atmosphere with less procedures and a closer community, a small company might be a good choice for you.

Working in a Large Company

A large company will usually have more resources at it's disposal, meaning that you can get additional perks, such as bigger annual and performance bonuses, additional forms of health insurance, private pension funds, reimbursements for various costs, etc. Salaries might be higher on average as well, since a big company will most likely have a larger revenue stream. If you like order and clearly defined structure a big company might a place for you, a large company simply cannot function without having a number of official company polices, including stuff like dress code, security procedures, and similar. Big company will more likely be able to offer more job stability and more room for internal transfers. You are more likely to get a career advancement plan with formalized goals. If you value your creative freedom and like making an impact, a large company, will generally not be the best place for that. Let's say you have an idea on how to improve a part of the testing process, you would need to go trough several layers of approval and probably face a lot of resistance since large companies are not known for their flexibility of the ability to change. In a big company you would usually be just a number, if you are a person who just wants to do their 9-5 job this may not be a con for you. Another thing worth of noting is that in a larger company it might be slower to advance trough your career, there will be a lot more competition and things will move more slowly as your manager's manager will have to get approval from their manager, take budget into the account, the number of candidates for promotions, etc. To sum up, a large company might be better suited for, let's say, a family oriented person who prefers a work environment with no (or very little) surprises and a job stability that a large company will be able to offer.

So, analyse your needs and make a decision based on that!