Pros: Citadel is packed with extremely talented, extremely driven, and ambitious people. For all that intensity, people are generally personable and good human beings. A lot will be demanded of you, and nearly everything you do will have a clear and immediate impact on your teammates, if not the firm. Work is intensely collaborative. Even on your worst day, you will feel tremendously accomplished. If you like pressure, you will be constantly stretching and growing. The hype is that Citadel is the place to work with the best and be the best, and the reality lives up to it.

Cons: Being the best and being surrounded by the best can be exhausting. Discussions are impassioned, heated, and sometimes combative. It’s great that everyone is so engaged, but nothing is ever easy. Management is very top-down. I’ve never had a job where so much time and energy was expended reporting to and justifying plans and decisions to the various layers of management above, or managing their curiosities and apprehensions. Leadership changes are frequent, and each time a lot of effort goes into bringing the new management up to speed. It seems sometimes that each day brings a new “top” priority.

Pros: Smart and helpful colleagues. Management with vision and determination. A fast-paced environment that allows you to see the impact of your work very quickly and be recognized and rewarded for it. Lots of learning opportunities and responsibilities, even at the junior levels. Catered food. The company has been more engaging with both employees and the community over the years through regular town halls and after-hour events. The responses to COVID-19, both in the US and abroad, have been swift and supportive. Lots of testing, planning, and provision of resources made WFH much easier and more productive.

Cons: A few things that are more of a culture issue in the finance industry that can turn software engineers off: * Somewhat long hours * A bit hard to raise a family (company policy has improved but still lagging behind some competitors) * Opaque and unbalanced compensation scheme

Pros: Good pay compared to FAANG, though less than other firms in the industry.

Cons: Awful work-life balance. Most people work 55+ hours, and many work over 70. The bonus goes into Ken's pocket, and compensation tends to stagnate over time.