[fresh_geezer]

I'm in the same situation, 41 and just folded a startup in November after six years and looking at what to do next.

My concern is if I jump on another startup and it doesn't go well, I will have even less chance to land a decent gig afterwards. Who knows what AI capabilities will be five years down the line?

I have some friends that work in government that could help me get a job there where you are basically unfireable and even get a pension, but the work is not very technically interesting. They all say it's soul-killing but stay for the stability and benefits.

Is a large tech company a better bet? I consider my self a very good developer but not sure if I can pass through all filters and the leetcode gauntlet either.

Deciding which road to go down is giving me more anxiety than ever before.

[willseth]

I think you mostly only run the risk of pigeonholing yourself as a “startup person” if you jump on another startup. But startup people value startup experience, so as along as you enjoy startup work and are making solid contributions, I think you have a long career ahead, with the caveat that options to work in a bigger company may be diminishing. Even then, it’s not all that uncommon for big companies to try to bring in startup types to breathe some life into a stagnant culture. Not so much FAANG but there are a lot of other big tech companies with good comp.