Choosing an Internship: The Big Tech vs. Startup Experience

Among the various questions facing students contemplating a career in technology is whether an internship at a big tech company or startup is “better.” These two types of company are undoubtedly very different. Big tech firms (think Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon) are industry mavens that offer power, prestige, and the feeling of contributing to a global giant; startups, on the other hand, are small and scrappy and carry the promise of large individual impact. [1]

[1] Startups vary vastly in size and scope, but in this guide I focus on their unifying elements. See this great resource for more info on the various kinds of startups if that’s of interest!

While the definition of “better” is ultimately personal, here I summarize the big tech vs. startup experience along various factors, in no particular order, that I’ve personally considered or seen college students use as decision criteria when choosing an internship. [2]

[2] I’ve excluded salary in this list of factors, as it often speaks for itself when driving decision-making.

Skill-building opportunities

Working at a large firm is an ideal environment to not only hone technical skills but also gain practice with the operations of a technology company. Before my first internship at a large company, I had only written code for school or personal projects. This meant that, while I may have been a good engineer, I was not yet a good engineering employee. I had never contributed to a company’s existing code base, a task that is really a combination of subtasks — parsing through and understanding code written by another team member, submitting code for review, and designing test cases to ensure what you write doesn’t adversely impact the already-turning gears of the company’s code. Two internships at large tech companies helped me develop the toolkit of an industry technologist. On a more organizational level, you’ll likely attend daily standup and team retrospectives and participate in a full software development cycle (probably Agile). Participation in a development cycle is not an experience exclusive to large companies, but large companies often have an established structure for their daily operations that many interns find conducive to building organizational prowess in the tech sector.

While startups are almost always looking for software engineers and are often willing to hire engineers without prior industry experience, they tend to be pickier about more niche positions, like product management. Some startups explicitly want to see that an incoming Product Manager has prior PM experience. In this case, it might be especially valuable to build your chops in an established program and then target smaller companies.

TL;DR: Large companies provide you with the opportunity to “understand the system” before potentially adapting your learnings or modifying your technique in a startup environment.

Role

The stereotype that large companies are structured rings fairly true when it comes to role — yours will likely be fairly well-delineated. At Microsoft, interns (and entry-level hires) are either software engineers (“devs”), program managers (“PMs”), or UI/UX designers, and for the most part, they stay in their lanes. As a PM intern at Microsoft, I didn’t write any code, and my dev friends never touched a spec document. [3], [4] A friend in the APM program at Google described the difference more eloquently — stating that “in general, PMs are evaluated on their ability to lead and execute products, and not on their ability to write code,” but clarified that PM and Engineering roles do experience overlap in one domain — designing technical infrastructure.

[3] Of course, PM and dev projects vary by team, but the point is that there is little role overlap baked into the program. You will likely interface with people in different roles and get a window into what their roles entail, but it’s unlikely you’ll ever fully do parts of their job yourself.

[4] If you’re an intern at a large company, this trend is similar for full-time, at least for entry-level positions. If you get a return offer, your work as a full-time hire generally mirrors that of your internship.

Your experience at a startup will likely differ dramatically re: role. At a small- to medium-sized startup, it’s relatively common for engineers to regularly voice product concerns and edit specs, and for PMs to try their hand at design and even edit the code base. As a PM intern at a startup, I’ve tinkered, created mockups in Figma with and without collaborating with our in-house designer, and directed testing hand-in-hand with engineering, along with the traditional PM tasks of user research, spec-writing, and timeline management. Smaller startups often operate with an “all-hands-on-deck” attitude, which allows you to expand into non-technical roles, too. [5] In my most recent job, I worked with Marketing to help produce the company podcast and authored blog posts, which I loved doing! This versatility is not just for PMs, though; many of the engineers I worked with occupy cross-disciplinary roles and thrive when working at the intersection of their interests.

[5] The larger startups get (think: Slack or Uber, pre-IPO), the more delineated roles generally get, naturally, and vice versa.

TL;DR: Larger companies assign more delineated responsibilities to roles. The boundaries between roles are much more fluid at a startup, where tackling a task outside the traditional scope of a role is relatively common.

Exposure and intellectual growth

In my experience, large firms with strong intern programs do an excellent job of showing interns the possibilities of accessing top executives. Two years ago, Goldman Sachs’ then-incoming CEO addressed the entire intern class at the New York headquarters. Microsoft’s Satya Nadella regularly addresses summer interns (all 3000 of them!) at the annual Intern Day, and every year, we see an almost-viral post by the Facebook intern(s) selected to present to Mark Zuckerberg. The message promoted by large companies is two-fold: They aim to inspire interns by showing them the leadership heights they might reach at the company (“This could be you!”), while simultaneously implying that top executives are approachable by anyone in the company hierarchy, from interns upwards. The former objective is readily achieved. The latter, in my experience, is more achievable than I expected — while at Microsoft, I reached out to a high-up AI ethics executive and had an extremely interesting, hour-long chat on the future of the field. A friend and fellow intern reached out to both Amy Hood, the CFO, and one of Microsoft’s general counsels. She recalls being struck by the authenticity of the former when she spoke about serendipity in her career journey, and she credits the latter as one of the most amazing connections she ever made, as he validated her frustrations about the industry and connected her to individuals at the company actively thinking about the ethical and social implications of products.

At startups, access to executives and leading intellectuals is grassroots in form but very present nonetheless, perhaps even more so than in a big company. Sometimes, surrounded by the nonchalance of my brilliant colleagues, I would forget that I’m exchanging water-cooler conversation with a successful serial entrepreneur or a celebrated artificial intelligence researcher. In startup land, it’s not uncommon for interns or entry-level hires to regularly engage in meaningful discussions with leading experts in the field without any pretense of (or even nod to) hierarchy. This famed Valley startup culture, where casual conversation doubles as product inspiration, allowed me to feel as though I could constantly soak up valuable insights without explicitly seeking them out. On the flip side, interns may sometimes feel that they’re drinking from a firehose and have to work to find a balance between incredible personal growth and overwhelm. [6]

[6] I have heard that the personal growth and expansion of horizons experienced at a startup is amplified when the startup is located abroad or in an emerging market. My friend who worked for a fintech company in Tanzania described her experience as being “reset” in a sense, put in a “mindspace of learning which in turn bled over into the work.” Think: domestic startup, but on steroids.

TL;DR: Large companies remind you who you might be one day, but you’ll have to do the leg work of reaching out to executives. At a startup, inspiration surrounds you, and it’s up to you to recognize and create value for yourself in that environment.

Cool perks

The definition of “cool” is undoubtedly personal, but large companies have historically led in this department. For example, Microsoft provides its interns with an Orca card, which works on most public transit options in the Puget Sound region. Moreover, interns receive a magic orange card that unlocks discounts at restaurants and experiences around the city, from Indian food in Capitol Hill to tickets at Chihuly Garden, and are treated to an annual Intern Day party. Google offers company bikes, nap pods, and in the case of its New York City location, an office above Chelsea Market with a gorgeous rooftop. I’m no longer too surprised when I hear former interns lament that the last good massage they got was on Google or Facebook’s dime two summers ago. These perks are designed to make your working life not only easier, but also more exciting.

Startups, however, have begun to play a perks game of their own. For Silicon Valley startups of almost any stage (except maybe pre-seed round), company Patagonias are a hallmark. While startup perks are dependent on the company’s funds and can run the gamut, many startups, especially the better-funded ones, now boast perks similar to those of big tech companies, including free breakfast and catered lunch, transit allowances, etc. There may not be a dedicated game room, but startups are by no means short of amusements — they just find ways to have fun that are less conventional.

TL;DR: Large companies are great at providing flashy perks to brighten your experience. Startups have begun to catch up and often add small company personality to their offerings.

Social life and company culture

The structured social activities organized by internship programs at big tech firms resemble summer camp — interns (campers) are often divided into subgroups under young full-timers (camp counselors), who put together all kinds of fun activities, from outdoor excursions to trivia nights and even parties. More formal events dot the summer social calendar — the famed Google boat party, in which interns take over a yacht in San Francisco Bay for the night, is regularly slated for July. These events make it easy to meet many members of your intern class, network, and make friends, which is especially helpful if your school doesn’t have a large intern presence at the company. [7]

[7] It’s important to remember, however, that your social life as an intern isn’t restricted to your company. Many interns feel guilty or hesitant voicing the fact that they don’t vibe super well with their intern class or feel the pressure to love the intern summer camp experience. It’s just as valid to make friends with interns who are working in the same city, many of whom are always interested in meeting new people and exploring their surroundings. A friend of mine working at Facebook crossed the metaphorical aisle and found lasting friends in a few Microsoft interns also living in Seattle over the summer!

The nature of socializing at a startup is very different, but conducive to forming close bonds — perhaps even more so than through large network-y events. Because you likely work intimately with your team and perhaps even with the whole company, it’s easy to feel as though your colleagues become a work family, with whom you work hard and play hard (read: regular team- or company-wide happy hours, lunches, and banter). In my experience, the lines between “colleague,” “work friend,” and “friend” blur easily and happily. [8] You also have the unique opportunity to help set company culture at a startup, as it’s an environment that rapidly grows and evolves along with the people who contribute to it.

[8] Perhaps this is the reason so many aspiring startup employees take painstaking care to choose a team with whom they really vibe. Where work and play aren’t clearly separated, enjoying the company of colleagues becomes that much more important.

TL;DR: Large companies have summer camp vibes, with organized events and interest groups designed to help you find friends at work. This works great for some, especially those who like to network and be a member of many social groups at once. Startup socializing can be more close-knit, and your colleagues often become your go-to’s, so choose them wisely!

Timing

They say “timing is everything” when it comes to relationships. I like to think it’s similar when choosing a type of company.

Several of my friends chose to work at large companies early in their college (or post-college) careers for some of the skill-building or “structured exposure” reasons discussed earlier. Many believe that completing an internship at a large company is a kind of resume stamp, conferring legitimacy upon aspiring technologists and granting clout to interns later seeking more specialized positions. Sometimes, big companies are the only ones with specialized introductory programs targeting freshmen or sophomores with little coding experience (think: Google’s Student Training in Engineering Program (formerly Engineering Practicum), Facebook University, Microsoft Explore, etc.), thereby becoming students’ de facto points of entry into the industry.

Many of these same students, having learned about themselves and their specific interests after a couple of summers in big tech, will crave more bandwidth and autonomy and flock to startups they deem mission-driven; but they acknowledge that they would not have been able to evaluate startups effectively and find the best fit without the exposure they gained by working at large tech firms first. Yet others begin their industry careers at startups, where they build close relationships from the get-go and leverage their continuing proximity to industry leaders as they progress in their careers.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

In short, while guides like this can hopefully provide more of an inside look as to what working at a big tech company vs. working at a startup entails, I want to reiterate that the decision is ultimately a personal one and depends deeply on your current context, past experiences, and future goals. There is no objectively “better” decision, and the better choice for you will also likely differ at various points in your career.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

In writing this piece, I drew on insights from my personal experiences (I was a software engineering intern at Goldman Sachs, a PM intern at Microsoft, and a PM intern at a healthtech startup) and the experiences of several fellow interns at companies like Google, Slack, Apple, and a number of startups around the world. We are all recent college graduates, so I’m writing from that perspective. If you would feel that a separate post on any of the topics touched upon here would be useful (including, but not limited to: startups abroad, venturing into entrepreneurship, early-career programs, recruiting for SWE vs. PM) or have perspectives to add, please let me know and I will do my best to incorporate them!

Thank you to some amazing women in engineering — Emily Hu, Ananya Karthik, Olivia Koshy, Ayushi Sinha, Srividhya Shanker, Ada Zhou, and Lauren Zhu — for contributing insights and offering feedback!