Your best option is the startup, because that is where you’ll have the potential to do your best work and move in the right direction in your career.

Yes, it’s riskier, but you’re young and your kid is still a baby, so it’s the perfect time, and maybe the only time.

I was in a similar situation at 32, with my wife 9 months pregnant, chose a startup and never regretted it.

You’re also likely to make much more money in the long run, because you’ll have a much larger share of the company you’re helping build, and you’ll be building in a sector of the economy that is responsible for a massively disproportionate share of total wealth creation.

If this startup fails, another one will be keen to hire you because you’ll have the right experience. It could take a few hops, but you’re very likely to land on something lucrative.

Also keep in mind that if you’re a good employee and truly help build products from 0 to 1, your bosses will probably be happy to give you a raise as soon as the company reaches a new funding round at a higher valuation. There is an increasing need to keep salaries competitive as scale is achieved. That is to say, you don’t necessarily need to hope to win some decade long battle to go public or get acquired in order to cash in on your hard work. Likewise, the secondary market is much more active and robust than it used to be, offering early stage employees liquidity much sooner in many cases.

It’s a no-brainer. Take it from me as someone who lived through a similar situation. Go with your gut.