Original Summary

I am currently working for a startup as an AI/software engineer. The project is an AI platform for schools and I am handling almost everything on the technical side. I am doing the AI part, backend, frontend, integrations and also other things that come up during development. The problem is the pay is low compared to the amount of work and responsibility I have. I already talked to them about increasing my salary but they said no because it is a startup and at the moment they cannot afford to increase it. I also asked about equity but they are not willing to give me any equity. This is what is making me question whether I should continue. I understand that when you join a startup you can expect things to be different from a big company. You can accept lower pay because maybe there is a chance of getting equity or benefiting when the company grows. But in my case I don’t have equity and they are also not willing to increase the salary. So I am putting a lot of my time and energy into building the product but I don’t have any ownership in it. The workload is also becoming too much for me. I am working long hours and the work is starting to affect me mentally. Sometimes even when I am not working I am still thinking about the project and what needs to be done. I have reached a point where I feel like I need to leave, but the problem is that I don’t have another job at the moment. That is what is confusing me. If I quit, I don’t know how long it will take me to get another job. But if I stay, I feel like I am continuing to burn myself out while building something that I don’t have any ownership in. I am not saying the company is bad. I also appreciate the experience I have gotten from working on the project. But I am starting to feel that the situation is not sustainable for me. For people who have been in a similar situation, especially software engineers working for startups in Kenya, what would you do? Would you stay until you find another job, even if the current job is affecting you mentally? Or would you quit, take the risk and then focus on finding another job or working on your own projects? I would really appreciate advice from people who have gone through something similar.   submitted by   /u/Calm_Flower4933 [link]   [comments]

  • 情报分类：工作与职业机会
  • 分类依据：内容涉及招聘、求职或职业发展
  • 信息来源：Reddit · SaaS
  • 发布时间：2026/9/20 05:34:20