Importance of Company Prestige in The IT Industry

Cynicaloflife on 19/10/2022 - 14:53
Last edited 19/10/2022 - 14:55

Hey Folks

Currently torn between two companies -

Company A: Prestigious Investment Bank working primarily with Java, C++. The technology appears to be legacy but has an extremely large scale.

However, the team appears to be dysfunctional (i.e. no scrum, no sprint planning etc) and the work involves working with developers across countries (like India, Germany, etc)

They are offering work visa but no relocation expenses.

Company B: Mid sized start-up working primarily in the Angular + .NET/C# stack + Azure. The work involves working with their internal systems (another team works on their customer facing system).

I found the team to be friendly and they have a good structure (standups, sprint planning etc). But there appears to be no systems of scale and their business doesn't interest me much.

They are also paying for relocation but not work visa. They have mentioned, I can get work visa if required in a year of joining the company.

I like Company B's culture better however Company A is very well known. How importance is prestige in the IT Industry? Plus, it seems there are more .NET jobs.

Torn between choosing between the two.

Poll Options

  • 13
    Company A
  • 45
    Company B
Education & Work

Comments

  • whatwasherproblem on 19/10/2022 - 15:03

    Are you early-career, or is this a later-career-where-I'm-mostly-established lateral move?

    • Cynicaloflife on 19/10/2022 - 15:05

      Early career - I have 3 years exp

      • toomuchdogfur on 19/10/2022 - 15:31
        +3

        Honestly I wouldn't be too worried about company prestige this early in your career, especially in tech. It's not like in Finance/Accounting where everyone lusts after being enslaved by Deloitte/EY/PWC because that allegedly sets you up in life.

        Besides any technical hiring process worth its salt is going to grill you on exactly what technical skills they want from you. Prestige means almost nothing - skills mean everything. Pick the jobs that look like you'll be learning new skills.

  • maxyzee on 19/10/2022 - 15:06

    Do whatever you feel you would be more comfortable working in.

    Company B seems to be more modern and agile which also means you might have more sway in decisions. I know for some people this would be important.

    From what you describe Company A seems to be a large multinational with thousands of employees therefore there would be a large bureaucracy in place place with meeting after meeting and checklists, legals etc. However would also have a much larger budget when it comes to projects so there could be opportunities to work on larger scale projects and also opportunity to move sideways if you don’t gel with the team you’re currently in.

    Up to you. Each have their pros and cons.

  • bobbified on 19/10/2022 - 15:07

    If you don't already have experience, I would go with the smaller company simply because the opportunity is there to learn more in a shorter timeframe. As in, you'll probably get to do a bit of everything. The larger companies tend to get you to focus on one thing (because they have lots of people and more controls in place on who can touch what) and I think it stunts one's ability to grow quickly.

    If you do go to the more larger and "prestigious" company, it'll take you longer to move through different roles and there's much more competition.

    Why do you need visa/relocation expenses? Are you planning on moving to another country after getting employed? Every company I've been to pays for visa and relocation expenses if they initiate a move (but different story if you initiate it) .

    • Cynicaloflife on 19/10/2022 - 15:17

      Employment is in a new country.

  • nomoneynoproblems on 19/10/2022 - 15:14
    +2

    Company B. It’s actually an IT company. You’re working with modern tech and practices which will help you in the long run. My 2 cents from an IT professional.

    • Cynicaloflife on 19/10/2022 - 15:15

      They are trying to sell a product/commodity but their main focus is not IT like Amazon, google etc.

      • nomoneynoproblems on 19/10/2022 - 15:26
        +4

        It’s still a software company as opposed to a Goldman Sachs blowing out their cobwebs though.

  • toomuchdogfur on 19/10/2022 - 15:38
    +2

    Company A may be better if you lean towards the business side of things and want to go up the management ladder.

    Company B may be better for learning actual technical skills and building a solid technical foundation.

    My money would go towards Company B. My experience with big companies (in particular giant IT consulting companies like Accenture & DXC) is that the few bright sparks in there are weighed down by the countless low-cost outsourced resources and end up constantly covering up or rectifying mistakes.

    I'd rather move fast and burn up in a tiny technical team, where you'll at least learn heaps of technical skills, rather than die slowly under the cost-cutting bureaucracy of a giant corporation.

  • Austin 316 on 19/10/2022 - 15:39
    +1

    Company B - Early on in your career you need to learn a lot, and you will get ample opportunities for that in company B. Company A is better for later in your career when you want to progress upwards towards team lead or other roles and get away from developing.

    Also working with the latest tech stack's now will only help you for your future jobs too.

  • Mechz on 19/10/2022 - 15:50
    -1

    Company A looks great until you realise there's no chance at a pay rise unless you leave or find a different role internally. Also their name might be ok now, but how long until they have a data breach or worse?

  • tsunamisurfer on 19/10/2022 - 15:52

    How does one arrive here with no work visa?

    • Cynicaloflife on 19/10/2022 - 15:55

      It’s for a role outside Aus.

      • salmon123 on 19/10/2022 - 17:21

        Which city is the role in?

        For New York/London/Singapore/Hong Kong, I would definitely go for the investment bank. All the high paying jobs are in finance in those cities. Getting experience in a bank will make it easy for you to get another job. Also, even if the job isn't in one of those cities, but you want to work in one of those cities in the future, finance experience under your belt will make it easy to get a job there.

        For most other cities, that aren't regarded as financial centers, I'd say the technology company is a better option.

  • nuker on 19/10/2022 - 16:09
    +1

    Never join big fin-tech companies. Its full of sociopats.

  • djsweet on 19/10/2022 - 16:59
    +1

    Looks like you’re face the two extremes of death. company A will suck because you will hate it any want to leave immediately. Company B will suffer from small company problems (lack of process, recognition, defined progression pathways). You will likely be worked really hard if it’s a start up, and your pay is going to be tightly coupled to their revenue. So keep that in mind.

    Given you are only 3 years in, Company B is a no brainer. But I’d be looking for other options.

  • AndyC1 on 19/10/2022 - 17:08

    OP as per "They are offering work visa but no relocation expenses." are you in OZ or OS?

    Both sound good for a challenge, but not long term.

    Mid size startup is an oxymoron, start-up's are small. Mid size are not start ups.

    Why are you moving? Think of the reason and why so you can choose the next company to grow.

    • Cynicaloflife on 19/10/2022 - 17:14

      I am in OZ moving overseas.

      Yea, shouldn’t really call it a mid-size startup as they have 600 people and made 50 mil profit. l

      Similar in size to VGW.

      Going for a change really…

      • AndyC1 on 19/10/2022 - 17:21

        Pick the one that uses containers and K8.

  • mskeggs on 19/10/2022 - 17:13

    Working in IT for a financial multi-national is not a prestigious job, IMO.

    I suppose it might impress your grandma, but other IT people will assume you are second tier in technical skills, unable to cut it at a technology business.
    Multi-nationals also routinely have toxic IT workplaces, as it is a cost, not a growth centre.

    Working in a start-up signals you have good IT skills, and are interested in technology, rather than a staid career at a mega-corp.
    I’d definitely take the start up path early in my career.

    • Cynicaloflife on 19/10/2022 - 17:16

      It depends on the team really! I interviewed with another Investment Bank VP and they were super super smart.

      • mskeggs on 19/10/2022 - 17:20

        Good you found one person. Will that person be your boss and only team member?
        You asked for general comments without mentioning any of the businesses involved.
        Generally, banking/finance is poisonous for IT. Generally, start ups are good for IT.
        Hope you find the exception if you choose “prestige”.

      • salmon123 on 19/10/2022 - 17:22

        I interviewed with another Investment Bank VP

        This clip comes to mind

  • lainey13 on 19/10/2022 - 21:54

    ??? You're worried about prestige?
    I'd be more worried about expected working hours, ability to work from home, release cycles (are you going to be on call a lot, or release overnight or weekends?), additional perks, the kind of people you'll be working with, how well you will get on with your manager etc
    Prestige means nothing

  • fredblogs on 20/10/2022 - 18:46

    Honestly they are both not ideal choices. I've worked in a company exactly like Company A and it was horrible. Forget about WLB also.
    Pros of company A: better exit opportunities if it's a recognisable company on your CV, more roles (and better pay?) in Java. I wouldn't worry about scrum or sprints.
    Company B: working on internal systems tends to be less recognised and rewarded. But C# is more pleasant than Java. Azure is useful.

  • Cynicaloflife on 21/10/2022 - 10:31
    +1

    Thanks guys, ended up going with option 2. Fingers crossed it works out 🤞

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