Join a Startup vs [large e-comm company] in India?

[Collin Dugas]

I am a lurker here since a four five years and I am in need of some advice. I have 5 years of exp in Java dev at a couple of big companies. I need to select between the following two options
1. Smallish startup in Bangalore that is doing reasonably well. They have <50 ppl on the the tech side. They are offering around 15 lakhs with a 20% variable pay included in it.
2. Software Development Engineer in Test at one of the biggest and well known e-comm companies globally, Chennai. I would be working on test frameworks and automating test cases. The pay is almost 20 lakhs I've experessed my concern of wanting to work on dev and not QA. The HR has told me that I can move into a SDE role after a year and relocate to any [DELETE] office after 18 months.

I personally want to take up the first option since I'd get out of Chennai and working for a startup will be more fulfilling. I don't really enjoy testing and would be stuck in Chennai, but working at 2 would improve my profile and could get me a chance to get to SV in a couple of years.

I know that it is ultimately me that has to make a call based on my priorities but I am finding it very difficult and some perspective could help.

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

Do you know what you'd be doing in option #1. If it isn't testing, it seems like that is the clear winner. You don't enjoy testing. Future promises don't mean much. Even if they intend it 100% honestly now, a lot can change in a year. Then it has been a year since you've been a developer and you face the harder task of moving back.

[Collin Dugas]

Yes, I am going to be a developer there.

Also, in the second option I am not going to be a full fledged tester but working on the development side of testing. I mean I will be working on automating the test cases and working on creating and improving the test frameworks.

If you do not mind I would like to get some more insight from you (or any of us here) on the below points.

1. Would having a relatively unknown company on the resume be a negative? I'm sure that the second will be a big +ve since they are considered very tough to get into, almost on par with google (at least considered like this in India). How big of a factor is this?
2. I'd be missing out on the chance of moving abroad to UK, US or Canada. I'd like to travel the world as much as I can.

Again, I thank you for the taking the time to respond.

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

This is going to be a regional thing. I've heard it matters more in India. And of course, it helps having a company people have heard of if you want to work in the US. However, it depends on what you did there. In an extreme example, working for the biggest company in the world as a cafeteria employee isn't going to help with a development job.

Test scripting could be development. Depends on the environment. It sounds like you don't consider it to be though from your comment about not liking testing.

[arulk pillai]

It is not an easy decision to make and you are the best person to make that decision based on your career aspirations, passion, etc

I have put together some of my thoughts here http://java-success.blogspot.com/2007/10/how-to-choose-from-multiple-javaj2ee.html that may be very handy.

[Sai Surya]

I didn't mean to discourage you, I burned my hand by joining a starup recently, soon after I joined they've lost major work and my job was in stake.
Please do enough research that they have money to pay your salary for atleast couple of years. Also do some research in their future projects, current
projects, and when the projects going to end etc.

All the best.