Decline Amazon SDE offer?
Don't think short term.
It is a pre-IPO company, making some product you are interested in? If you don't see the company succeeding, don't join it in the first place. If the company succeeds, even a 150K salary will look like peanuts. Of course, there is probably a <10% chance of that happening.
At Amazon, your initial offer might sound good, but you have to consider what will happen on the job. Will you be happy? What are the growth prospects? Location? etc etc. Amazon has one of the highest attrition rates. If you decide to leave after one year, what will happen to your bonuses etc?
A startup experience is quite different.
Based on your the salary you are getting from Amazon, I am guessing you are either just starting out or probably have no more than 3-4 years of experience.
To get the startup experience, do it early in your career, when you can possibly to work longer hours and even afford to fail (of course, each situation is different, and you have to decide) . Once you get married and have kids etc (again, this is a generic statement, might not apply to you) you will likely become risk averse, and joining a startup at that point might prove difficult. Even if you join one, the work life balance might be quite messed up.
If you are getting the opportunity to join a pre-IPO startup doing something you love, early in your career, I would say do it!
And again, stop thinking short term.
(Wow, long post. Sorry).
I would recommend the startup assuming its well funded. You'll learn more and be given better growth opportunities. If you're ambitious, in 2-3 years, I guarantee you won't be working at amazon. At amazon, you'll be put on a standard growth track which is very slow. Good engineers will figure this out in about 2 years and leave to advance their career because all the decision making slots will be taken. At a startup, you grow with the company and your responsibilities will be high day one.
Ethically no
- Anonymous August 19, 2013