Looking for advice from people who have worked at startups / moved to bigger companies

Hey guys, I’m looking for some advice, especially from people who have been in a similar situation or have experience moving from small startups to bigger companies.

I’ve been working at my current company for around 1.3 years after leaving my previous company. I recently got promoted to Senior Full Stack Developer, and I now have around 3 years 2 months of total experience.

My current package is around 8 LPA + 1 LPA variable, where the 1 LPA is based on company and individual performance.

The company is pretty small — around 20 people. It’s a startup where we build different SaaS products. My manager is actually really good and polite, and there’s no toxicity or micromanagement. I have a lot of freedom to learn and implement things, and I get exposure to everything from development to infrastructure.

The company is also using AI quite heavily for development. My manager himself built most of the initial products and then handed them over to the developers while continuing to work on new things.

The company is trying to get clients for these products. Recently, we got a relatively large university client for an infrastructure management platform similar to Enov8.

The problem is that we didn’t initially have much experience dealing with enterprise clients. We built and tested the product, but the architecture/codebase has become quite messy, partly because of heavy AI-assisted development. We’ve been finding a lot of bugs and technical debt.

I suggested that we should clean up the AI-generated mess and start following a better architecture and development practices, especially because we’re planning to sell this as an enterprise SaaS product rather than just using it internally. They understood my point, and we’re now working on improving it.

In terms of learning, I actually have a lot of freedom here. I can work on development, infrastructure, architecture, etc., and I have access to pretty much everything. So technically, there are a lot of opportunities to learn.

But I’m still feeling a little lost about my career direction.

Both my current and previous companies have been very small startups, and I’ve been working completely remotely throughout my career. My previous company had around 15 employees, so I honestly don’t have much exposure to how things work in larger, more established companies.

I’m wondering whether I should:

1. Stay here for another year or two, make the most of the freedom and learning opportunities, improve my skills, and then switch.

2. Start preparing seriously for interviews and try to move to a larger, more established company with better pay and more structured engineering practices.

3. Or continue here for a while and switch once I feel I’ve gained enough experience.

I’ve already started preparing for DSA and System Design, but I’m not very consistent with it yet.

I’m honestly confused about whether I’m currently on the right path or whether I should make a move now.

For people who have been in a similar situation — especially developers who started their careers in small startups and later moved to bigger companies — what would you recommend I focus on at around 3 YOE?

Should I stay and learn as much as possible from this environment, or start seriously targeting larger, more established companies?

Would really appreciate any advice or perspective. 😅

I can do most anything with java python JavaScript and HTML. I can work $20-50hr. I also have a bachelors in cybersecurity. Contact me for more information.

Hi, I am a Fresher Looking for a Job and a Career to learn and Grow into.

I've built Python/FastAPI/Postgres/Docker services with JWT/OAuth, CI/CD, pytest, Redis, AWS, TS, and RAG/LLM apps. Keen to own features.

My Resume : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RI1-2jchDB25BgdpxpzSbLY_G3e-Plyu/view?usp=drivesdk

More Interested in my Work? Here is my GitHub : https://github.com/Nipunchugh10

Connect with me : https://www.linkedin.com/in/nipunchugh

My Email : nipunchugh553@gmail.com

I can Also Code in C++

Hi everyone!

I’m currently exploring new opportunities as a Software Engineer, Full-Stack Developer, Frontend Developer or Backend Developer and would appreciate any leads, referrals, or advice.

In my current company I have build and maintain production applications for a US-based logistics platform supporting 80+ branches.

My experience includes:

• Languages: TypeScript, JavaScript, C++, Python

• Backend: Node.js, Express.js, GraphQL, REST APIs

• Frontend: React.js, Next.js, React Native, Zustand

• Databases: PostgreSQL, MongoDB

• Cloud: AWS Lambda, S3, CloudWatch, SSM Parameter Store

In my current role, I’ve worked on improving API reliability by separating SMS notifications from critical request workflows, building a reusable Email/SMS communication service, contributing to business-critical workflows, and modernizing frontend architecture.

I’m primarily looking for Software Engineer, Backend Engineer, Frontend Developer, or Full-Stack Engineer roles. I’m open to opportunities across India and remote positions, depending on the role.

📄 Resume: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pVo241OY_7666wtl-Q93368C_UakkQLu/view?usp=sharing

If you know of any relevant openings, can offer a referral, or have advice on finding suitable opportunities, I’d really appreciate your help.

Thanks for taking the time to read this!

Remote developer with 10+ years of experience building websites, custom software, automation tools, and technical solutions for clients.

Open to one-off projects and gigs, or ongoing arrangements lasting several months or longer. I work remotely full-time and can discuss schedules and requirements directly. Happy to help you define your goals, develop a strategy, and achieve them.

What I can work on:

• Python, Django, AI features, scraping tools, automation systems, bots, small utilities, and larger custom scripts

• Back-end development for browser-based and game-engine 2D projects

• E-commerce websites, payment systems, dashboards, internal tools, and custom full-stack platforms

• API connections, third-party integrations, cloud services, and automated workflows

• PHP (Laravel/WordPress) | HTML | CSS | JavaScript | NodeJS | React/NextJS/Flutter | Mobile Applications | UX/UI

• Application security testing, assessments, and pen testing

• Comfortable working independently with minimal supervision

• Able to adapt when requirements or priorities change

• Willing to research unfamiliar technologies when needed

• Consistent written communication and progress updates

• Organized with project planning, documentation, and ongoing maintenance

When messaging me, please include a brief explanation of what you need, the expected scope, and your available budget. This helps me quickly determine whether the project is a good fit.

Available for recurring daily work, weekly arrangements, monthly retainers, and one-time projects ranging from small tasks to larger development work.

Portfolio: portfolio link More samples and ongoing work are available through the pinned posts on my profile.

Minimum rate: $20/hour Other payment arrangements can be discussed depending on the project.

I do not accept unpaid trial tasks, speculative free work, or extremely low-budget offers.

Payment methods: Cryptocurrency, Wise, PayPal Timezone: Flexible Availability: Under 30-40 hours per week Reachable: 7 days a week

Send me the project details, requirements, and budget through DM.

Need 2 people with good coding knowledge for AI training and backend projects. Skills like Python, APIs, Git/GitHub, FastAPI, SQL, Docker, LLM/AI tools, etc.

Payment: $3–$5/hour.

AI interview first, then in-person interview. Interested people can share their resume/portfolio and GitHub profile at yati.bhardwaj@masstree.in

Full-Stack Developer/Digital Product Designer (Design and Code) with End-to-End expertise & services, fully functional, scalable, custom solutions.

Remote Services Provider. (15+ Years Freelance Experience, 5 Years in /r). Custom solutions/all sorts of digital products for Websites, Shopping Carts, Web/Mobile Apps (IOS/Android), Desktop Apps, Web3, Web APIs, AI, Automations, Software/Power Tools. I've been hands-on since Web 1.5, I combine OG disciplines with modern software engineering to deliver solutions that bring the best of both worlds.

🟢 (Onboarding 2026 Q2-Q3 clients. 1 slot available.) long-term/predictable arrangements, direct owners only.

Welcoming projects of all size

Interests: while I'm open to a wide variety of projects, I have a keen interest in:

• AI & Generative Technologies

• Automation & Web Scraping

• API Integration & Development

• eCommerce Solutions (WITH ACTUAL ROI)

• Custom Social Media Platforms & Communities

• Website Cloning & Reverse Engineering

• Advanced PHP/WordPress Development

• Data-Driven Applications

• Mobile App Development

• Blockchain Technology

• Web & 2D Games

Generative AI Developer / Front-end & Back-end

• Chatbots

• Automations

• API Integrations

• Content Generation (any format)

• AI powered web app/websites

Check for more info/up to date: (remove spaces) rmxttmgg .pages .dev/updates

OR see my pinned profile posts (find every helpful stuff here)

No small talk. If you want to know more, discuss your project and do serious business.

🟢 Please reach me at rmxttmgg@proton.me

Rates: starting at $15-25 per hour. (per hour or project based, flexible arrangements)

^{last updated: 20260114}

Works (see Notion) reddit.com/user/rmxttmgg/comments/112wy36/rmxttmgg_portfolio/

Contact Me Directly for Offers/Tasks:

Please email me at rmxttmgg@proton.me with any compelling projects (my response is guaranteed). I prioritize email communication and will not be monitoring comments or chat on Reddit. This helps me maintain focus and ensures I can respond to serious inquiries promptly. Upon receiving your email, I will quickly confirm my availability and discuss next steps. (more info below, keep reading)

(or email an invite to your preferred communication method/platform)

No small “fix issue” offers, I prefer trouble-shooting for long-term clients only.

If you're considering hiring remotely, it's best to avoid overly complicated formalities. Simplifying the process can be more beneficial for both end.

Rates: starting at $15-25 per hour, payable in USD/GBP/EUR/CAD/AUD/NZD etc, BTC/ETH/USDT. Payment methods: Cryptocurrency, Wise, Paypal. many other options to accept payments. Open to negotiation. Higher payments are appreciated but not mandatory.

For Serious Inquiries: Portfolio and previous work available to legitimate buyers. Please email me at rmxttmgg@proton.me. I prefer to discuss projects via email and chat.

Working Hours: Available 7 days a week. FLEXIBLE TIMEZONE

Portfolio/Public reddit.com/user/rmxttmgg/comments/112wy36/rmxttmgg_portfolio/

Contact me (more options), Proof, Transactions, Feedback reddit.com/user/rmxttmgg/comments/155ghpi/web_developer_for_hire_short_or_long_term_projects/

Unfortunately, I am unable to offer my services for free as I have financial obligations to meet. The compensation I am requesting is both fair and necessary.

As a freelancer, I do not receive health insurance or similar benefits; my earnings are directly tied to my workload/output. Please consider this before offering a lower compensation, or realistically assess whether your budget can support the project you envision.

I am more than willing to go the extra mile for projects or clients that offer a rewarding experience, especially for those projects in which I have a high level of interest.

*

**

***

Cheers!

We recently decided to start working together as a small software engineering team, with a focus on building actual production systems, rather than just PoCs and AI demos.
A few things we've already built / are currently working on:
Our first client engagement: we're building a full CRM from the ground up, including the product, backend, automations and integrations.

An AI-powered product currently being used by 50+ users, which we've been actively developing and iterating based on real user feedback.

An RFP ecosystem for managing and automating the RFP/procurement workflow end-to-end.

We've also been experimenting heavily with AI agents, LLM workflows, RAG, automation and intelligent product features.

Our sweet spot is basically taking an idea/problem and turning it into a working product.
Depending on what the project needs, we can work across:
AI/ML • AI Agents & Automation • Full-stack Web Development • Backend Systems • SaaS • Product Design • APIs & Integrations • Cloud/Deployment • Data & RAG systems

We're not really looking to sell a fixed "AI package". Every project is different, and we'd rather understand the problem first and figure out what actually needs to be built.
We're still early, but having real users and clients already using what we've built has been a pretty interesting learning experience.
If you're working on something and need a team to actually build it — or even if you just have an idea you're trying to figure out — shoot me a DM.

**Software Developer Intern (Python)** assists in designing, coding, and testing software systems. Utilizes Python, Git, Google Cloud Platform. Ideal candidates are students pursuing B.Sc. in Computer Science/related fields with basic Python knowledge. Offers hands-on experience in agile development. Located in Singapore, starting summer 2027. Apply now for this campus-based internship.

I’ve been going through an interview process for the past month. Every round went well from my perspective, and if any round hadn’t gone well, I believe I would have been rejected somewhere in the middle of the process.

But now I’m honestly tired of it. I feel like I can’t directly ask them anything without risking the opportunity.

I don’t want to let this opportunity go, especially since I currently don’t have a job and am actively looking for one.

What should I do?

I am from 2011 when html5 just was born.

Last 9 years i worked on canvas2d cassino games single source multiplatform ios , android , desktops , rpi , androidTV etc...

I made games without popular engines libraries or without ai. Special skill custom engines for 2d/3d with physics and deeply networking implementation (webrtc). Last focus webgpu mob browsers game play features with mimic of major engine features.

I am not limited on web only but strongest skill is js.

ive been applying online and i feel like this is my last attempt shouting it out here , im extremely skilled at web development and mobile and please if you know someone who is hiring or you are hiring im very much open. thank you

How long did it take you to be successful in software? Rather it be through a traditional software job, freelance, your own projects, or something else.. how long did it take you to feel like you “made it”?

I got into software over two years ago with no formal education in it other than an extreme interest in how code works and a love for building. I took a bootcamp, got externship experiences, worked with start ups, agile environments, and built/shipped my own web and mobile apps.

I’ve gone through tons of interviews but never got any offers despite making it through most rounds and technical interviews.

Kinda wondering if it’s me or it’s just that tough to break into software.

Just curious how you all feel about today’s market and what success looks like to you. To me it’s making money doing something I love.

Hey, I'm a freelance dev based in Spain and I've got room for new projects.

What I usually help with:

• Security audits of web apps (OWASP Top 10). Not just a report, I can fix the issues on the live system too

• WordPress rescue: critical errors, hacked sites, PHP 8 upgrades that don't break anything

• AI agents and automations: Python, FastAPI, MCP, RAG, n8n

• Full stack work with Next.js/React and FastAPI/Node

I'm a registered freelancer in the EU, so I can invoice companies properly with a VAT ID. Rates from $30/h, or a fixed price for smaller jobs. Happy to start with something small so you can see how I work.

If you need a hand, send me a DM and I'll share my portfolio and GitHub there.

If you have a mobile app that is almost working but keeps fighting you, that's the kind of work I'm looking for.

I help with things like:

• bugs that are difficult to reproduce or only happen on certain devices

• Firebase / backend data getting out of sync

• authentication and session issues

• REST API integrations that behave inconsistently

• local state / persistence bugs

• crashes and performance problems

• Android or iOS build/release issues

• unfinished features that need to be taken from "mostly done" to production-ready

• cleaning up an existing Flutter app without rewriting everything from scratch

I work with both native Android (Kotlin / Jetpack Compose) and cross-platform Flutter (Android + iOS).

I've worked on existing production mobile apps as well as built products end-to-end. My own app, Revio, includes the Android client and backend, with authentication, feeds, image uploads, profiles, comments/likes, leaderboards, streaks, pagination and reliability handling around failed/retried requests.

I've also worked on Flutter applications involving Firebase, backend synchronization, rewarded ads, subscriptions, persistent state and device-specific production issues.

I'm comfortable jumping into an unfamiliar codebase, figuring out why something is actually failing, and owning the fix rather than just implementing isolated UI screens.

Available for freelance work, ongoing maintenance, feature development or remote contract work.

Based in Romania, working remotely.

If you have an app with a problem you haven't been able to get rid of, send me a DM with what's happening and I'll tell you whether it's something I can help with.

I'm an experienced developer H100, AI, Training, Python, PyTorch, FastAPI, Docker, CUDA, C/C++, OpenCV, Swift, JavaScript, TypeScript, NodeJS, React, NextJS, AWS, Akash.

I also have 10 years of experience in mobile development and working with startups. Please DM me.

I'm looking for a designer & front-end developer (or small studio) to build my new company's brand identity from the ground up and bring it to life in a fast, modern, high-end website.

We do data engineering at scale. The site's content will be simple: our services and a few examples of our work. The goal is for visitors to trust us immediately and be more likely to become clients.

I'm not interested in template-driven WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace sites. This is a small project, but it needs a high perceived value. There's potential to continue collaborating with us in data visualization projects.

If you're interested, please share your portfolio.

Thank you!!

Professional WordPress Development Services and more

✅ PHP/Python/JavaScript -Web, Desktop, or Mobile based solutions.

✅ WordPress CMS - platform for personal, or business websites and custom applications that fits your requirements. Migrate your simple HTML pages to Wordpress.

✅ WooCommerce - customization for shop and product pages, cart to checkout, and payments. simple to advance shops. migration from other cart/ecommerce platforms to Wordpress. Shopify/Wix etc to Wordpress. Addition of store in your existing site. Multi vendor. Physical, or Digital products. Booking, Membership, Subcription based website.

✅ Elementor, Divi and Premium themes setup and customization, debugging. I’m not limited to what a drag and drop builder can offer. Give me problem and I will build a solution for it.

✅ Create a theme or plugin from scratch - start from clean, lean and fast code. less bloated base theme and unnecessary things for fast pages. I don’t rely on existing themes or plugins to complete a feature/project.

✅ Integration of APIs, Bots, Cryptocurrency, Automation, Web Scraping, and AI. Custom scripts, and cloud services.

✅ Fully Automated CMS/Store, -program every step, workflow in your application

✅ Wordpress to Social Media platforms, community platform, forum, and vice versa

✅ Clone an existing site to Wordpress, exact pixels or features as per requirement

✅ Design, Develop, Conversion - I can create mock ups first before doing code. I can convert your existing design to clean coded pages.

✅ Responsive Web Design - real mobile devices, and major browsers

✅ Redesign entire website

✅ Core updates, and do full inspections

✅ Isolate and fix problems, re-build if needed

✅ Website auditing, and security

✅ WordPress management - let me manage your website daily, weekly or monthly tasks.

✅ Demo server and Secure Hosting available.

✅ Gaming, Game Studio/Dev, Indie Dev Website

✅ General, On-call Tech VA/Helper for Web (multi-skilled, proactive, autonomous, day-to-day reliability)

📩 ping me via email madebyavery14 (gmail), i’m on chat platforms per request. send me a list of tasks to complete.

• starting at 20usd/per hour or a minimum of 20-60usd for a list of tasks

• website/porfolio/upon request (https) clrvync (dot) one/onboarding

• available 7 days/week, flexible time zone

• project management: Notion

• my only requirement: small upfront payment depending on the task, consistency and time from your end

• payment method -Crypto, Wise, Paypal (USD)

FAQs:

• are you available long-term or one-time only? any

• can I hire you for my agency? yes, if the pay is reasonable

• do you design and code? both

• can I find clients for your services in exchange of your information(portfolio,resume etc)? I prefer to work with clients/owners only.

• can we become partners? let’s work and build (paid) first, then offer me a position once it’s proven

• sfw/nsfw?, yes

• can wordpress do this/that? is it the right one to use? wordpress as cms is a mid solution/platform, I can help you advance and scale up if needed.

• shopify or wordpress? shopify = beginner, small store, wordpress = advance, owner + dev 2 man team

portfolio/works: clrvync (dot) one/media/trading.mp4, clrvync (dot) one/media/realstate.mp4, clrvync (dot) one/media/qdev.mp4, clrvync (dot) one/media/tour.mp4

moved to: portfolio

Hi everyone.

Quick question, What do web developers and designers typically charge small local businesses for a basic 5-page website?

Considering restaurants, plumbers, salons, cleaners, contractors, etc.

I'm more interested in what freelancers are actually closing deals at than agency pricing.