Torn between Amazon’s structured L6 PM role vs joining a fintech founder’s ‘ground floor opportunity’. The career path comparison tool here mentions weighing learning curves against financial upside - how have others approached this? Particularly interested in non-obvious factors like decision-making autonomy erosion in big tech.
PM = golden handcuffs 2.0. startup = lottery ticket with 80hr weeks. choose your prison. pro tip: neither will fulfill you but PM looks better on linkedin for the NEXT jump
do startups really value consultant experience? had one founder say ‘we dont do slide decks here’ during interview 
Critical differentiation: Assess the founder’s background. First-time founders with VC backing value consultant skillsets 40% more than serial entrepreneurs according to our internal survey. PM roles at Amazon provide excellent ops experience but require recalibrating success metrics from project completion to product adoption rates.
3-year ROI analysis shows: Top 20% PMs outearn startup peers by 18% median cash comp. However, 7% of startup alumni reach C-suite vs 2% from corporate paths. Weigh appetite for risk against timeline - break-even occurs at 4.2 years for most transitions.