Are there people who have worked at both who can make a good comparison?
I have friends at hedge funds who definitely earn a lot more than they would working in a tech company, but your hours aren’t as predictable or nice
It really depends on what you would be doing in that Hedge Fund. If you have a tech role you might get paid slightly higher than in a tech company. The real difference happens when you have a role associated to their core product which is investment. Then the salary would be much higher. This could very well be a technical (math and statistics) oriented role
SWE salaries or QR salaries are significantly higher than most major tech companies. You may find that it's easier to get promoted at tech companies though because there are more opportunities. So if you're in middle-upper level management at say FB you may swing a better salary than a SWE position at Citadel. New grad SWE TC's can hit upwards of $400K here (definitely not everyone gets this but still that's 3x+ your major tech companies). To the comments about WLB, it's not that bad. Some weeks you'll work more than others, but it's largely team dependent and based off how productive you are. Nobody tells you when to come in or leave, and nobody is going to pat your back for working in the evening or on the weekends. Most people at major tech companies also work long hours: FB, Uber, Amazon, etc. It's a personal choice. 2-3x the pay for working 50 hours a week instead of 40 is worth it to some and the tradeoff you make
Your TC and YoE? What do you think a mid level SWE gets a citadel (3-5 YoE)?
The median case is probably about $400k, top performers probably clear $1mm
Yes, but less than Albertson's.