My first job was a small company

My first job was a small company

Often newcomers who have just graduated ask me how to choose a programmer's first job, should I go to a large company or a small company?

The young man is really entangled. It must be the one who gives more money.

Okay, no kidding. Most graduates are looking for a job for the first time, and when the salary difference of multiple offers is not big, choosing a company is indeed more tangled. Large companies have good benefits and perfect systems, and small companies are simple and efficient, and train people.

As someone who has come, today this article talks about my first work experience.

My first job was a very, very small software company. I stayed for 2 years.

Turning the time back to 18 years ago, in 2001, I was promoted to a senior year and faced with graduating from college and looking for a job. My university majored in mechanics. After three years of studying mechanics vaguely, I finally understood one thing: The mechanics major was not compatible with me. No wonder I failed so many subjects in the three-year exam.

In the first semester of my senior year, under the influence of a few classmates, I participated in a half-year Java training. Relying on the six months of training, I learned a little bit about Java and Oracle. In a blink of an eye, when I graduated from my senior year in 2002, I was looking for a job.

Finally I found a software development job in Beijing. The company was very small, with a total of 6 or 7 people. I included 3 programmers and the other two programmers with 3 or 4 years of experience. The office is more than 20 square meters, and there are no snacks or coffee. The environment is not as spacious as the three places in the picture below.

My salary is 800 yuan per month, no benefits, and the salary of a normal computer major is about 2000 yuan.

That year, the open-air food stalls were grilled for three skewers for 1 yuan, and the pancake was less than 2 yuan. The house price in Beijing was only a few thousand yuan. Therefore, the salary of 800 is enough to live, not too little! It's enough to have a place to take me in, and it's enough to be able to enter this profession.

After four and a half years of Java training, I can only order simple SQL, and only use JDBC to write, write, delete, modify and check. Just a few days after I went there, I came up with a project to build a content publishing system. The manager gave this project to myself. To be precise, there is also an artist to help with drawing. Those two programmers, how much can guide Me some.

This is how small companies are, basically one person is responsible for a small project, you are the back-end development, you are the front-end development, you are the testing, and you are the one who writes the documentation. If there is a big project, 3 people will work together... I think too much. There are 3 people in total, who are immune to big projects.

I worked on this project for 3 months and delivered it ahead of schedule. It was very hard work. It’s a bit of a foundation to add, delete, modify and check, so the back-end Java code can be written and written, and the front-end Html and JavaScript are really learned from scratch. Work at work during the day, soak in CSDN, various technical forums after work, study hard, work overtime and stay up late. Sometimes it's too late for the bus, so I just lie on the table and make do with sleep.

After this project is completed, from the installation of the environment, to the development of the code, to the writing of various documents, it is a complete experience.

As the saying goes, a small company can exercise your comprehensive ability.

Although the first project is very small, I have learned a lot. The theoretical knowledge I learned in the previous training class, after this hands-on work, feels that I have mastered it.

After this project, I did a similar project, and at this time I had the bottom line. After finishing two projects, the salary rose to 1,200. After saving a salary for a few months, I bought my first mobile phone.

In 2003, I took over another project that impressed me. Where is the impression?

First, this project is much more complicated than the previous ones. It is a small CRM system that I have been working on for nearly a year. Customers have high requirements for the front end, so they forced me to make significant progress in JavaScript.

Second, the customer was in a field and experienced a business trip for the first time. From the preliminary investigation to the final system installation and delivery, he traveled many times by himself. I haven't been to several cities before, and now I still remember that I was very excited on my first business trip, and the demand survey went smoothly. I started to design in a hurry on the train back.

Third, the SARS epidemic broke out across the country in 2003. During the SARS period, most people would not go out easily. I was not afraid at the time, and even traveled with a thick mask. When you get out of the train station, if the taxi driver sees that you are from Beijing, he is afraid to pull it. The worst time Beijingers were discriminated against by outsiders.

Fourth, I used Struts and Hibernate for this project. Compared with my peers, I was exposed to these two technologies earlier. In fact, it is not necessary, but in order to learn new things, I suggest the boss to use it. Small companies have this advantage. They don’t have so many restrictions and make decisions easily.

Soon after the completion of this project, I moved to a foreign company with thousands of people. The reasons for the change were: First, for better personal development, I feel that I have not learned much in a small company, and I hope to get in touch with more. Projects, challenges, and a more mature environment. The second is because of the salary. The salary before the job change was 2000, and the salary after the job change was 5000.

In the past two years in a small company, the main gains were twofold:

First, train yourself more comprehensively, not just in terms of technology. I used to talk nervously with strangers. After I was in charge of the project, it was necessary to communicate with customers. My communication skills gradually improved and my speech became less nervous.

Second, in addition to the project's impetus for my rapid growth, I also have colleagues' guidance. The company is small and the coworkers have a harmonious relationship. Whether it is the two programmers or the boss, they have much more experience and experience than my novice. Now that I think about it, I am grateful for their help.

My experience in a small company is over. If you are also struggling to choose a company now, I can give a few suggestions.

1. Don't hear it, don't be naive to think that big companies have perfect talent training and promotion, and don't think that small companies are very efficient and have no internal fighting.

2. Looking at the business, even if it is a large company, if you are involved in a non-core business or even an edge business, the business may be cut off someday.

3. Looking at the trend, if you have access to AI and big data business, it is worth trying.

4. Follow people, if your boss or direct leader is very powerful and a big player in the industry, don’t hesitate, this is more important than company size.

5. Looking at the future, if you are a small startup company with a good background and give you shares, you can blog while you are young. Maybe you have met a little unicorn.

6. When you go to a big company, don't think that the company is great = the individual is great; when you go to a small company, don't dislike it. Exercise your abilities well and let your value continue to increase. Salary is your price. The price is lower than the value by accident, the higher the value, the higher the price.

Easter egg: I also had a very important achievement in the first company. I met a girlfriend. Now I am my daughter-in-law and my daughter's mother.

I hope this article is helpful to you after reading it.