MBirchmeier

The one thing I want to point out is this is your first job after graduation, not the final job for the rest of your life.

Yes you are starting a career, yes you are going to spend a couple of years there.

Anymore though, much like college, jobs are becoming temporary steps in the grand scheme of things. I like to think of the following things:

Where do I want to be in 5 years?
Will this job get me the skills to be there?
What will I need to develop on my own?

Will this job challenge me technically?
Will I keep learning?
Will I be put into environments with a technology to learn/grow with?
What techniques will I be using that might be new?

Will this job challenege me professionally?
Will I have the opportunity to grow my 'rolodex'?
Will I learn the skills to communicate as a 'normal person' and not just as a 'computer guy'?
Will I have the network necessary to bring in business to the company/find my next job when the time comes to move on?

That being said your first job could be exactly what you're looking for, you love it, and spend the next 55 years there (I expect retirement ages to go up), or you might spend six months, a year, five years, learn alot about the environment, and about yourself, then take a job with a better fit, and repeat the whole process over again.

Even if you never switch companies there is still much room for change(in a bigger company you'll get a 'promotion' or a 're-org' in a smaller company you'll just take on new stuff). What you do the first three months will be different from what you do two years in.

Let your brain simmer on the details for a while, narrow down your choices then go with your gut. Big or small environment; ASM, C# or J2EE; West coast, east coast, or midwest; all of these are details. You chose your college based on what one you felt was best for your growth, pick your job the same way.

-MBirchmeier

DaWei

I'd like to add a detail commensurate with what MB is saying. At one time it was considered a deficiency for a person to have moved about from job to job. Such is not often the case, these days. Often, if you don't move, you'll get moved (downsizing and such).

I started my own contracting company as soon as I was able simply because I need variety and no one expects a contractor to hang with a particular company once the contract is finished. It's enough that you're loyal and productive while you're there. The upshot, if you do it right, is that you are invited back, time after time.

Here's a true story. On my very first contract I was putting in about 45 hours a week and charging for about 38-40. After a few weeks the boss asked an employee working on the same project if I was putting in the hours I was billing for. The employee said, "Naw, he's putting in much more than that." I got a half-dozen additional contracts with that company over the next 10 years, each for more money than before.

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kurifu

I have worked for both large and smaller companies, while I found it easier to get into large companies I also tended not to like the environment. Most of the larger places I have worked for have had very political infrastructure which makes getting certain things done reasonably a nightmare. It also tends to be a less personal (though this isn't always the case for all companies, some are worse than others, big or small).

I have always preferred smaller environments and companies though, as I am at now. I find they tend to be a little more laid back, and since they usually face challenges with limited human resources sometimes you get to experiment a little bit outside your normal job decription, and if the company grows, you have more potential for growth.

All in all, it depends n the company.

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