Bloomberg LP

• Job security: The company does great during economic turmoil.
• Very good culture, a supportive environment where people help each other.
• The company runs training and mentoring for non-engineering roles, encouraging and supporting internal moves into software engineering.
• Continuous learning: Internal meetups, mentoring programs, text and video materials, and courses/classes are available, and managers are mostly supportive.
• A lot of talented people who try to share knowledge.
• Internal meetups for enthusiasts of various topics such as testing, design, your favorite language, etc.
• People stick around more than in other big tech companies; you can see quite a lot of very experienced engineers around.
• Very good compensation (not as good as FANGs, but still above market).
• Transfer to the USA is possible (most likely New York HQ).
• Easy to change team/role.
• No levels: You are either an engineer (entry) or a senior engineer (experienced).
• Heterogeneous technology stack: You'll find your niche.
• If you like C++, they are good and respected in the field.
• No cut-throat atmosphere among peers.
• I've seen a lot of support provided for struggling individuals.
• We used to be allowed to work from any office (before the pandemic); some were using it for traveling around the world with family.
• For those who are allowed to work from home, it was pretty generous before the pandemic (unofficial limits were pretty generous).
• Flexible working arrangements, such as 4-day work weeks.
• Free snacks (not meals).
• The company is present in many industries, so it has more diversity and opportunity to change career paths than FANGs.
• No overtime, death marches, weekend assignments, etc.
• Opportunities to do social work, such as teaching math or reading at a local school.
• The backend is Linux and mostly open source.

• 9-hour workday.
• A lot of legacy C++ applications with nasty workflows.
• Terminal frontend is JavaScript, but it's not a JavaScript that will count in other frontend roles (proprietary tooling).
• Recent obsession with standardization on Visual Studio Code.
• Windows workstations to write UNIX software (being fair: MacBooks are pretty popular as well).
• Some areas are political and with nasty backstabbing.
• Most interesting stuff happens in the US.
• Easy to sleepwalk into a dead end if you are not proactive about your career.
• Benefits are somewhat poor compared to other tech companies.
• No free healthy food; just junk food.
• Compensation does not match FANG big-tech companies. Bloomberg is not a public company and does not grant stock. Cash bonuses do not compensate for lack of RSUs.
• Too many experienced and valuable contributors move to FANG, replaced by fresh undergrads. Nothing against fresh undergrads, but healthy proportions should be maintained.
• Recruitment process still relies on external suppliers, providing a poor first impression for candidates.
• No levels if you are into chasing promotion to L5 or something.
• Compensation progression is not clear and depends on your manager support and politics.
• Situation and culture in non-engineering departments are not so great.

Match compensation to levels comparable with FANG and make the process more transparent.

Focus more on talent retention and healthy junior/senior proportions.

Focus on quality experience during talent acquisition; why this company relies on external agencies and contractors instead of doing its own sourcing is beyond my comprehension.

Improve the food supply – the pantry serves mostly junk food.

Sort out this 9-hour thing – it scares people off.