Does this advice apply to a new developer who wants to work for a startup or established dotcom later?
Or does it assume that they'll either want to stay in consulting long-term, or eventually move to a past client?
My recent experience is that most startups and established dotcoms don't know what to make of consulting on a resume, and they mostly want to see FAANG and some of this year's preferred frameworks.
I can't speak for established dotcoms, but for startups I think that a small consulting company is a great springboard. You learn how to get up to speed on different technologies and problem spaces quickly. As mentioned in the article, there's also no place to hide at a small consulting company, just like a startup. (This doesn't apply at a big consulting shop like IBM, HP, McKinsey, etc, and I'm not sure how tenure there will be perceived at startups.)
Note that this is based on my (non bay area) experience.
Or does it assume that they'll either want to stay in consulting long-term, or eventually move to a past client?
My recent experience is that most startups and established dotcoms don't know what to make of consulting on a resume, and they mostly want to see FAANG and some of this year's preferred frameworks.