I got into a bank as senior ML researcher (not development but studying and analyzing models), but I like tech companies (like google, fb and microsoft) and the work they do. I have also a software engineer2 offer from Microsoft. Is it better to take software engineer offer at Microsoft and shift to AI/ML teams later internally or work for 6 months-1 year at bank and then switch? How easy or hard it would be? Which is the best career option? P.S: I have 6 years of software development experience.
Do you want to be a data scientist/analyst or a software developer? Pick a career path and get good at it. Is the comp at the bank comparable? Do you want to live in Seattle?
SDE2 at Microsoft probably give your resume a better brand and possibly more money in longer run. Just ensure to switch in your expertise as soon as get chance and set timelines to look outside again if goals are not meeting.
Moving internally is not always easy...easier to gain experience your field of choice and then move
I would recommend asking to interview for ML teams - if you think internal move is easy it isn’t - you have to go through the whole loop again and if in depression of not being able to do Ml you don’t become a good software engineer to start with you will have issues
I don't mind going through the loop but at least I will get calls from internal teams easily right? And how is the flexibility to move between teams at Microsoft (assuming I clear loops).
If you are really interested in working on ML, go with the offer where you get that experience. Moving internally in microsoft from a development team to a data science team is not going to be easy. Not impossible but not easy! We have hired people from financial companies like Goldman Sachs, so moving back to tech for data science wont be a problem.
Thank you for the reply. What would be process look like (interviews) if I want to move internally vs taking experience externally and then applying? Does moving internally offer lot of opportunities as I see Microsoft is doing a wide variety of things with AI.
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My response is diff than @bogie’s. WHAT you do matters more than what it’s called. Why not double-down on ML within fin services and be the person who claims that as expertise? Good investment for a startup future. FANG won’t go away. Take any opp you get to differentiate w both hands. Just my $0.02.
Thanks for the reply. Any idea whether it would be tough to move into tech companies after joining bank? I really like the work that the big four tech companies are doing in AI/ML areas.
Get through at least a year year of industry at the bank. Learn the crap out of how the bank works and thinks about ML: use cases, constraints, capability gaps, architectures, business and operating models, and opportunities to cut out fat(ty software systems). Normally this isn’t easy to do. Get to know someone who is in finance and manages the operating budget so you understand the operational levers. Once that happens come knocking at any of the big AI companies and carve out a niche as an industry lead for capital markets. You will be set for life. Hell I’d gladly put you in touch w people to hire you.