Just looking through the replies to your comment makes me throw up my hands in confusion and frustration. You say one thing, the next person argues against one point, then someone counter-argues, and so on. It's all a confusing mess. It's like you need a financial rep to be with you at job interviews to understand all this stuff.
Just say no to options, and demand market level salary. I interviewed at an early stage start up in the mid west. The CEO lamented "People here just don't understand stock options" and as the first technical employee I'd be "by far the highest paid person in the company". I said "People do understand stock options, they're a gamble" and declined the offer. I don't want to be the highest paid person at any company.
