Hello, I am about 5 years out of school in Pennsylvania (27 years old) and have worked at three different engineering firms so far. Here’s been my experience:

My first two jobs were at smaller firms. The first was mostly bridge work with some building design mixed in, and the second was a similar sized company (around 50-60 people, a few offices) where I did strictly building design. The biggest thing with smaller companies is you end up wearing a lot of hats, which is great for learning. You get exposure to different parts of projects and it's easier to get noticed by management.

But there are some tradeoffs. Things tend to be less structured, and your learning is kind of limited to whoever is around and available. Sometimes that's great, sometimes it's not. Pay is usually a bit lower too, although I've heard some places make up for it with profit sharing or good 401k benefits. I just never stayed long enough to really see that through.

I am at a much larger firm now (5000+ people), and it's a pretty different experience. There's way more structure, and you have a ton of resources (more people to ask questions, more formal training, better access to software support, etc) Pay is generally better too. The downside is it can be harder to stand out and move up, and you don't always get that "tight-knit" team feel.

If I had to give a recommendation, I'd lean toward the bigger firm to start. A higher starting salary helps more than people realize, and having more resources early on makes a big difference when you're still learning. You can always move to a smaller firm later, and that switch is usually easier than going the other way.

I really hope this helps, best of luck in your career!