What do I need to know about stock options? I'm getting an offer with them in and never have before.

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I'm not a compensation expert and only commenting based on my experience with stock options at a previous job. Employee stock options give you the right (but not the obligation) to purchase shares of the company's common stock at a certain price (called the strike price). For startups, this strike price is usually determined based on the company's valuation established in the latest funding round. For publicly traded companies, the strike price is somewhere below the current share price (otherwise the options are worthless). The vesting period is usually the same as for RSUs, four year vesting with a one-year cliff, though some companies may do it differently. Vested options usually don't expire while you're employed at the company, but if you leave, vested options expire within 30-90 days if not exercised.

To exercise your options, you have to put up your own money, the number of vested options times the strike price (or a subset of that if you don't wish to exercise all options). You will then own the shares and can either hold them or sell them (not easy unless the company is publicly traded). If you hold them, it could be years before the company exits and you can realize a profit, or in the worst case scenario, it doesn't exit at all and you lose the money you spent on exercising the options.

As you can see, employee stock options are much riskier than RSUs (especially Amazon ones), but there's also potential for higher profits. Consider how long you'd be likely to stay at the company, your risk tolerance, and how long you're willing to wait to realize a profit.

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They’re how you actually get rich

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No. Many stock options can be worthless. Many companies never IPO.

But stock makes up about half my net worth from a successful IPO. So it can really hit when it hits.

Is it a company that is going places? That would be my biggest concern.

For tax purposes, it also matters how long u have owned (purchased) the options vs cashing them in. So if u think or know your company will be going public soon, buy them asap, then do not sell for at least a year. Then u get taxed at capital gains rate which is much lower

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