With 1.5 millions engineering graduates coming out of colleges across India each year and only a few thousand jobs available in their dream companies, it is not a surprise we see many have no jobs or are taking up higher studies just for the heck of it in hope of better prospects after post graduation [1].

Startups are trending today. Every nook and corner – be it a metro or a tier II city – you will find startups. A recently published (Oct 2015) NASSCOM report says, “India is Globally the third in the shear number of Startups today!” [2]. So here are my 5 key reasons why one should join a startup early on in his/her career.

1. You have passion for learning new technologies

   Are you one of those who is hungry for knowledge all the time? Sure, your grad education has taught you a lot of overall things and we all know how its been taught in universities today. If you are one of those who couldn’t get into elite few colleges, then chances are you don’t recollect anything you learnt in your grad school today. All theory and no hands on play has eaten into your grey matter.

   Startups are a great place to start your work and quench your thirst. Sure the salary wont be exorbitant, but the learning never stops there. Everything is mostly hands on and everyday is a new beginning. What you will learn in 2 years in a large enterprise, you will be an expert in that in just over 6 months in a Startup.

   

2. You have an itch. You can’t sit Idle.

   Of all the rat race runners out there who do not know where they are headed and what they real want, you are lucky you have an itch for something. You don’t care about the usual route people take: a job in an MNC, a foreign trip to the US/Europe, a fancy Car, a nice flat/house, a beautiful bride, and on on it goes.
   Startups can give you your space to tinker on things you love. A Startup life will not only allow you to grow in the area of your interest, it will also mentor you to channel your energy in the right direction.

3. You want responsibility and recognition

   You are a hard worker ready to seat it out. You want to get all the due credit for your hard work. The responsibility, the recognition – you want it all. Surely in a company that has 100,000+ employees, its a little hard to get noticed don’t you think?
   A Startup on the other hand would only have a handful of employees and your work would directly impact their business. You will find yourself getting a whole lot of attention and responsibility than what you asked for. 🙂

4. You want to make insane amount of Money and are willing to take BIG Risks

   
   Startup come with their own set of risk. You will be taking on BIG risk to join a startup if you are in the middle of your career. The risk, however, for a fresher is far less subdued. 90% of the startups are known to fail [3].
   If you are lucky to join a startup that falls in the other 10%, then trust me – this will be your first and last job ever!

5. You want to leap frog your career and join an MNC later

   Many have this thought and I thought it will not be justified if I miss out adding this in. If you are one of those who aspires of the usual career path I have mentioned above for the general public rat race, then surely you need to piggy back on an MNC. As a fresher you have no luck so far… you got rejected plenty a times already.
   Your best bet is to join a Startup, learn  learn and learn your way up. Gain experience at least for 3 years and your career will spring board you into your dream company! No doubt.
   Hey, but hold on… what if this startup is amongst those that fall in the 10%? The choice is yours…