For people that work at one of these companies in London, can you comment about career progression, compensation progression and skill development while working at those companies? Do you see yourself improving significantly throughout the years of working there? While there are several reviews in Glassdoor they mostly refer to US offices and there are not enough data points for London. HRT has definitely a better rating in Glassdoor but does this difference also hold for London? I am referring to SWE roles but all answers are welcome.
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Jump is top class (source: worked there, in the London office). Lovely people, and challenging work. I am a bit worried about their (very) siloed team structure, but it does allow you to choose between anything from a small startup-like team to larger and more organised teams. You will learn a lot very quickly, although I don't know how that curve continues, or what it's like coming in as an experienced hire. I know less about HRT, but I recently got an offer for algo dev in London from them (that I declined), and so I have spoken to many people at the company. They also seem like a great bunch, and I somehow felt like it was very much like Jump, but more collaboratively structured. Do note that their London office is very small compared to their NY one, whereas Jump already has a solid presence in the UK. In most cases, there is no useful concept of "career progression" - you just get better at doing things, and you get payed accordingly. Structures are very flat, so there is no obvious way "upward". I'm not entirely sure about comp progression, but I can't see how that would be an issue either with these firms - insane TC both places. Skill improvement: at HRT you will probably be doing many varied projects and learn a lot - at Jump, you will also learn a lot; it just depends on what kind of team you join; in a small team, you will probably be doing a bit of everything, whereas a larger team will allow for more specialisation. Lastly, remember that these firms are more similar than they are different, except HRT being very collaborative, and Jump being very siloed. Do you have offers from any of these firms at the moment?
Great write-up. Why did you pass HRT? Was the pay not high enough (and, would you mimd ballbarking how much it was), or was it more due to personal reasons?
Main reason: I got a very strong offer from Citadel Securities for a role I ultimately think was better suited to my background (and I really liked the team there). Also, when I started getting offers from a few other firms, HRT kept ignoring my other deadlines, so I got quite annoyed with them in the end. In general, I would probably rate HRT slightly over Citsec, if what I've heard about wlb and culture is true. But they are both definitely top tier firms, as is Jump. Comp in London: I know for certain that these firms sometimes do pay top US new grad salaries (think around $450k TC, including sign-on) for top quant talent in London - although this isn't for SWE, it should give you an idea. I also know a new grad SWE who started working for a newer and smaller quant trading firm in London who got £65k base, and probably some bonus. So it really (really) depends on the firm, the role, and how much they want you.