Microsoft vs Financial Institutions
I’ll be moving careers soon and was wondering what the consensus is on pay for Microsoft vs Financial Institutions for a SWE? In Charlotte and don’t really want to move just yet, will probably save that for my first career hop as a SWE. Do banks usually compensate as well as Microsoft? What about WLB?
Don’t move from Microsoft to a bank. You’d be going from a core revenue generating employee to glorified IT support. Tech is a cost center at banks. If you want to leave Microsoft, go to Google, Meta, or similar.
Only time I have seen MSFT engineers move to banks if the bank was GS or some strats role. Other times I have seen if they got a senior management position. But pretty much everyone I know is a dev is trying to go from bank to tech company not the other way aroudn lol
Hey it’s me, everyone you know. Currently interviewing to switch from a bank to Microsoft.
Came from a bank to MS. MS paid about 60% more in the same Geo If you do move to a bank then do so for a big title/leadership position. Otherwise as a dev it's a lot of red tape and BS. Many of your peers will mediocre and yoy most likely have tech leaders who have no idea what they are doing. Additionally other tech companies do not look as favorably at fintech experience. So MS to bank would be going backwards. WLB was great, but to me it was not worth putting up with the red tap, BS and low pay.
It does depend on team but the median MS dev is probably better than at a bank. Also, I don't think anyone puts banks in the fintech category lol. Just see them as banks. I think its hard to grow at most back office teams for sure.
I’m also in Charlotte. DO NOT move from Microsoft or any top tech companies to any banks!
This.
Also this.
I’m in Charlotte & leaving MSFT to come to a bank is a bad idea
Banks will pay you peanuts compared to tech companies. But if you are looking for a wlb then I would think Banks are better.
Definitely not gs. Other banks yeah
It's not even close - my partner worked for 15 years at Microsoft and always out earned me in base compensation, bonus and benefits (and I don't get RSUs or options).
Wow, alright. Figured since out of FAANG/equivalent everyone shits on Microsoft for pay that banks might be about the same. I’ll definitely stick to in-house or remote FAANG for SWE apps then!
Banks don't pay the same for most SDE roles. I mean maybe there is someone at GS making more but these folks are rare. If you end up on a non revenue generating team, raises will be non existent. Tech is 100 percent seen as a cost center.