Big Fish in a Small Pond

I read an article about small fish/big fish and was wondering what exactly is the better thing! This is the perspective of a fish in a small pond.

Agreed that the learning in a small pond could be much higher. People are open to ideas and opinions are respected, if not always considered. You can create systems for yourself and others. Propose and take up new activities, responsibilities. One important advantage could be the opportunity of exposure to multiple functions of the organisation. The growth no doubt is much higher in the smaller pond. I have experienced this in both a new business of a big organisation and a relatively small organisation.

However, there are other aspects of the small pond that might not be all that pleasant. For one, it is a lot more hard work. A lot of times, work is not at all defined. You might actually reinvent the wheel a lot of times. I feel that there is no way that you can read about/assimilate best practices all the time. Resources could be meager and you might end up spending time just making ends meet. You might feel direction-less at times. It does require a good amount of self motivation.

Having said that, I would still go with the 'big fish in a small pond' approach any day. One, because being in such scenarios for more or less all my professional life, I think I am more comfortable with the ambiguity. And two, because I personally feel that in the long run, a small pond does make one "battle-ready".