... but be choosy if you can. Find the startup where you'll be working closely with experts.

My first start-up, I worked very closely with the founder, a brilliant guy who's been in the security industry since it was an industry. I learned Python development, I learned how to reverse-engineer Android apps, ELF/Mach-O/PE binary formats, I learned dev-ops type work and Amazon web services, some crypto, and I learned more linux.

I had someone to ask complicated questions, and received amazing answers. I made the most of it as I could.

And then I left in a year, found a job making 50% more, then left again a year later and now I'm making more than any of my classmates, and I have the job I always wanted to have. It took me roughly two and a half years.

It's a mix of luck, but I also put a hell of lot of hard work in to make connections with people in the field I want to be in, and also to learn as much as I could where I was. I started through meetup.com during my senior year in college, and that's what got me in touch with the first guy.

I learned an incredible amount in that first year at that startup, and then I bumped my salary considerably at my second job and set the rung a lot higher. I'm making double what I was making at the startup, and I'm doing work I love.

Point is, startup or not, at the start of your career you should a place that will improve your skills and bring you to the next level, and a startup is a great place to do that quickly, if you find the right place and make the most out of it. That knowledge is invaluable, and it will pay off, but not that first year. But it will sure as fuck pay off in the end.