Exactly. If you're not a founder or investor, expect your options in a non-public company to be worth zero. There are a dozen ways they can dilute them to worthlessness.
You'll have a much better chance of making money on stock and stock options if you join an already-public company that has an ESPP and regularly grants stock options for their publicly-traded stock as incentives to the employees.
You'll have a much better chance of making money on stock and stock options if you join an already-public company that has an ESPP and regularly grants stock options for their publicly-traded stock as incentives to the employees.