Tech IndustryJan 10, 2019

New grad - Took Bloomberg NYC over Microsoft Seattle

Hello Everyone, First things first TC (New Grad) : Bloomberg - 160k fixed per year (base+annual bonus), 30k sign-on Microsoft - ~155k fixed per year (base+stocks/yr+ 0-20% annual bonus(assumption 10%)), 30k sign-on I chose Bloomberg over Microsoft. I personally felt Bloomberg engineers to be much smarter than Microsoft and overall felt the hiring bar at Bloomberg to be higher than Microsoft. My concern is that there are many students around me who look surprised when I tell them about my decision of choosing Bloomberg. Do people in general feel the same about my decision? My Background - I am currently pursuing CS Masters from an ivy ranked in top 10.

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Microsoft ScubyDuBDu Jan 10, 2019

That's one stupid move. Take the microsoft if haven't already rejected!

Informatica Hummie OP Jan 10, 2019

Can you elaborate a bit? I feel that I can grow much faster in Bloomberg NYC since it has more exciting work and smarter people. Also, Bloomberg has a very good reputation being the largest tech company in NYC.

Microsoft ScubyDuBDu Jan 10, 2019

What makes you feel that you will grow faster in Bloomberg and not in Microsoft? Also why do you think Bloomberg has exciting work and Microsoft doesn't? Microsoft has so so many teams. It's dipping in fingers every tech pot and with internal changes you can work on any tech you want. Bloomberg has limited options in terms of this. Also if you want to grow faster, Microsoft has so many teams that work like a startup. You can participate in things like garage, work on your ideas and much more ways for people who seek and take initiative. So Microsoft seems like a clear winner in terms of whatever your goals are.

Amazon ✊ThanosJS Jan 10, 2019

Are you single? If so good move

Informatica Hummie OP Jan 10, 2019

Yes, I am single..:)

Amazon ✊ThanosJS Jan 11, 2019

Yeah dude just Leetcode on the side and enjoy NYC. Try for Google or Uber in NYC

F5 Networks etcd Jan 10, 2019

This poll will definitely not make you feel better. Poll can just get skewed based on Blind having more MS folks. Also, as this is your first job out of grad school it won't make a big difference. Stop looking for validation and be happy with what you chose :)

Evernote bakbak🐔 Jan 11, 2019

Bloomberg is an excellent company and they have solid engineers

Airbnb Hrydhdeheb Jan 11, 2019

Bloomberg is strong and they have great people. You will always have a chance working for MS. I personally rejected MS offer few yrs ago but in couple of year I will go there. While you are young you can work hard at Bloomberg and enjoy life in NY. When you wanna settle you can move to Seattle for a much better wlb with your family (hopefully you will have one till then). You don’t need to be worried about your dating life then either.

Facebook djdkslwhx Jan 11, 2019

Why would you go from Airbnb to MS?

Airbnb Hrydhdeheb Jan 11, 2019

I will not do it now. Although I will not stay at Airbnb for long.

Qualtrics kegstand Jan 11, 2019

Taking tax and cost of living into account, Bloomberg seems to be the worse offer. This could depend on which teams you interviewed with, but if the Bloomberg interview gave you an overall better impression and experience then I say stick with your decision. However I don't agree with generalizing the talent level over the entire company this way. I personally feel the best engineers in Microsoft are better than those at Bloomberg, especially those who specialize in ML/AI and cloud/distributed systems.

SpaceX uevh5 Jan 11, 2019

You fucked up royally, sorry

Microsoft Micr0s0ft Jan 11, 2019

+1

Informatica Hummie OP Jan 11, 2019

Can you kindly explain your thoughts?

Google Mmkaay Jan 11, 2019

Bad move IMO

Informatica Hummie OP Jan 11, 2019

Can you kindly elaborate?

Two Sigma kWJilp Jan 11, 2019

We interview a lot of people from Bloomberg and I would say on average they tend to be weak and rarely get offers. We interview less people from Microsoft (less apply since we are in NYC) but they tend to be much stronger and are more likely to get hired. My impression is most people at Bloomberg are not good but that Bloomberg doesn’t need strong engineers for most of what they do. I am told they have a few superstars that hold the place together. Maybe you met some of those. I interviewed at Bloomberg and the people who interviewed me seemed miserable and told me I probably didn’t want to work there since their stack is so antiquated.

Informatica Hummie OP Jan 11, 2019

Can you kindly tell me how recent was this experience?

Two Sigma kWJilp Jan 11, 2019

I interviewed at Bloomberg around 10+ years ago, so not recent. As far as caliber of people we interview and hire between the two, that data is up to date. Many of the posts in this thread point out that you may want to weigh other factors in your decision as well. If your goal is to work where the engineers are strongest, Bloomberg isn’t it. But if you go to Bloomberg you won’t be locked in there for life, and there are lots of opportunities in NY to move to companies with stronger swe when you want to leave Bloomberg.

Microsoft maison Jan 11, 2019

I wouldn't obsess over it. Enjoy NYC for a year or two. There are many tech companies in NYC nowadays. You should be able to switch without too much trouble.

Amazon btsfan Jan 11, 2019

I didnt have a good impression when I interviewed at Bloomberg. If I remember correctly, the team I've interviewed for's tech stack seemed very outdated and interview questions were as easy as GS's. I couldn't see myself growing there. If you want to live in NYC, there is google,fb