I am struggling to decide between my top three offers, which are for Meta, a Hedge Fund (think Citadel, Jane Street, Two Sigma, etc.) and a London based HFT firm (you'll likely know the name but want to protect my privacy). The offers are: Meta (E5): TC ~£203k (109, $420/4 years, 15% bonus), plus £40k sign-on - this is the max band offer I think. Hedge Fund: TC £240k (140, 100 guaranteed minimum bonus), plus £40k sign-on. HFT: TC £240k (140, 100 guaranteed minimum bonus), plus £40k sign-on (they matched the Hedge Fund). In terms of TC the trading firms are reasonably higher, although stock appreciation should cover some of the gap. The benefits at Meta are by far the best - free travel, free food all week, free gym / Apple watches / sports club fees etc., so this also adds up to maybe £10k+ each year. In terms of growth I've read that Meta E5 -> E6 is far more likely than growing past this level at trading firms. I have complete confidence I am good enough for the promotion so concerned more about E6/E7 vs trading firm staff+ rather than "will I get stuck at E5 / senior forever". In terms of WLB the hedge fund and HFT place a lot of emphasis on having a good balance, both appear to only be 35-40 hours a week. I've read posts from their employees here that mostly support this. Meta could potentially be much higher, although I don't necessarily mind that. In terms of job satisfaction I think I'd much prefer Meta, as I'm not really interested in finance and I've always wanted to work in big tech. I moved to London over the pandemic so haven't met many people outside of work and I'm very extroverted, so the social clubs / events / office culture of Meta really appeals to me. The hedge fund is mostly remote right now so I think I'd get depressed WFH in my flat, while the HFT is basically no remote allowed - so would be good socially but also not allow me to WFH on Monday and do laundry / chores during lunch / whatever. In terms of prestige Meta obviously wins for the general population but the hedge fund is perceived as harder to get into, so tech people find it more prestigious (I think). I think it comes down to this: TC: Hedge Fund = HFT > Meta Growth: Meta > Hedge Fund = HFT (?) WLB: Hedge Fund = HFT > Meta Social / Enjoyment: Meta >> Hedge Fund > HFT Prestige: Hedge Fund > (>>?) Meta = HFT Would I be mad for picking Meta? All three firms are amazing but I think I'd enjoy life much more there, however I want to buy a house in London in the next few years so the ~£35k difference in TC is a lot to ignore. Would growth / stock appreciation make up for this, or at least bridge the gap enough for it to make sense to take Meta for the enjoyment / social? Sorry for the long post, this is a really difficult decision. (Since everyone will ask:) Current TC: Absolute peanuts YoE: Just hit 5 "How did you get into the hedge fund / HFT, what are the interviews like, how did you get referred, etc." Everything is the same as FAANG interviews, leetcode questions are mediums or (doable) hards - I didn't encounter any "memorise this obscure algorithm" questions. System design is less emphasized but still relevant. Behavioural, as always, is super important. You don't need any finance / trading knowledge for SWE roles. I applied directly on the websits of all of these companies and used reddit to get feedback on my resume before applying. No internal referrals. Apply for many companies at once, get many offers (I have 8) and use them to leverage higher compensation packages. You won't get max band / strong offers without competition. #london #meta #facebook #hedgefund #hft #trading
I think so but I'm not 100% sure, they have different leveling systems but it doesn't look like there are many people with my YoE and the next level up - so I think I'm placed correctly relative to Meta E5.
Congrats! Meta seems better. Btw, on the "used reddit to get feedback" part, how exactly did you do?
Read the sticky in r/engineeringresumes, modify your CV based on their guidelines, then anonymise your CV and post it in that subreddit. They helped me create several iterations of my CV which was super helpful, I actually had a few interviews in which the interviewer would mention that my CV was one of the best they'd ever read and all I did was follow those guidelines.
Is your CV 1 or 2 pages?
Take Meta, you've demonstrated that you can pass the other interviews so if you don't like it after a year then you can interview again and leave. Don't overthink it, your gut seems pretty convinced. Regarding wlb concerns, try to pay special attention to that during boot camp and hopefully you end up with something decent
Nice offers! Sounds like you're leaning toward Meta, but feel free to hmu if you have any questions about the other 2
Was in a similar situation and picked Meta due to career growth, the work seemed like it would be more fun, and the project itself was more compelling. TC hit was even bigger for me.
did you end up moving to google afterwards?
Meta gives free Apple watches? Since when?
I was told by a current employee that people get them using the health and fitness allowance (which is like £2500+ a year).
Hedge fund with great WLB : likely Two Sigma
Meta can go higher. max base is 115
I thought that was only for internal promotions to E5 rather than external candidates? I've seen bases up to £115k and higher RSUs on levels.fyi but every external offer I've seen posted on Blind is equal to or lower than my offer. Will likely try to negotiate with Meta on Monday if true.
No, external offers can go higher as well
That’s an amazing Meta offer for E5, did you negotiate?
Not yet but I had a £230k TC offer before finishing up with Meta so mentioned that to them before getting this offer. Probably going to try to negotiate with Meta as apparently the base can go up to £115k, but this is definitely at the high end of the band.
Meta because it seems to be your true desire, just based on what you wrote. Finance is boring.