Perception of HFT firms
Considering an interview with Two Sigma. I know that the comp is great and WLB is terrible. I want to know how these companies are perceived in SV. Is having them on your resume equivalent to FANG? Will there be good exit opportunities to work at Big Tech companies (Bay Area or Seattle) after 2 or 3 years? Trying to understand whether it'll be a good thing to have on my resume. TC : 180K YOE: 2
The WLB is only bad at some HFT companies. Citadel is the most notorious. Some are really good.
Citadel Securities WLB is not that bad, the hedge side is horrible.
TS is known for good WLB at least as far as quant firms go.
Two Sigma >>>> Amazon. FNG and Two Sigma have roughly equal prestige with Two Sigma probably having the highest floor talent wise. That being said, when going to tech from quant finance, you may find the skills don’t translate as well as if you were in tech the entire time. This also works in the other direction. TLDR: Two Sigma very good to have on resume.
Could you elaborate on what the skillset differences are?
HFT >>> FANG in terms of prestige and resume brand
Two Sigma doesn’t pay that well - similar to FB/G for E4+. There are HFT’s/prop firms paying way more.
Got it. But what about that sector as a whole? I'm concerned about exit opportunities to big tech companies in SV .
Are you looking to do quant dev work or infrastructure? There can be a huge difference in pay. HFT is dead.