PPI Forums

Which is better. A big firm or a small firm? (Culture, Pay, Experiance, Learning Curve, flexibilty, growth, improvement ect.)

I worked for very small firm (me and the boss) and a very large one (15,000 employees). I am glad I worked for a small company. I was exposed to everything; accounting, purchasing, estimating, engineering, supervision, contract negotiations, field work you name it. I was making a lot less money and I was working many more hours but I learned a lot. I don't think I would have developed as much as I had if I started working for a large company. I look at my counterparts and they have a difficult time looking at the big picture. There are a select few who are moved around the company for development but they are few and far between. With my small company experience I can move myself around the company and enhance my own development. A large company may have better compensation and benefits. Not to mention virtually unlimited resources. I moved from a small company to a large company for added security and more opportunity for growth. My only recommendation is that you need to identify what your future goals are. If you want to open your own firm, go with the small company. If you are looking to climb the corporate ladder, start small and then go big.