When people hear the term “startup,” they tend to think of tech giants and social networks that began as an idea in a garage or a dorm room and turned into multi-billion dollar companies. While those are the dream success stories, the reality is that there are thousands of startups being created each year. About 90% of them fail. And while that number sounds ominous, only 10% fail within the first year. During that time, startups typically raise large sums of money, adapt and evolve multiple times, and look like a different company by the time they succeed or fail. This doesn’t mean that many aren’t successful. It just means starting a company that lasts is difficult. It also doesn’t mean that you should be afraid of working at startups because of the failure rates. Startups offer some of the best opportunities across many different industries.While certainly not true across the board, many startups do pay well. And it’s not uncommon to gain the kind of valuable experience in just six months at a startup that it might take years to get at a larger and more established corporation. There’s value in that.