Optiver

• Good pay (they'll almost always beat any competitor)
• Free breakfast and lunch, which tastes good on most days
• Free coffee until midday
• Good resume booster

But honestly, don't let these perks lure you.

• Very high expectations and BS performance reviews mean that you could be below average and get fired very quickly. I've seen smart and competent people shown the door.

• Within the first few months, I saw quite a few people disappear or leave. There was even someone that resigned due to mental health problems (more than likely caused by work-related stress). If this place is so great, why do people leave? Seriously ask yourself that before joining.

• Projects are an absolute mess. As a dev, you'll be a project manager, tester, and support, which is on top of your usual dev work.

• Limited career growth outside of finance, and the tech is an outdated mess. Honestly, try finding a C++ job outside of HFT that pays in the same ballpark. So, make sure you plan an exit route.

• Engineers are a pay grade below. Seriously, a second-year junior trader earns the same as a senior (L3) developer.

• Individualist environment means people are always fighting for their bonus.

• Got yelled at by a frustrated manager because I made an honest mistake and was a little slow to interpret something.

• Be wary of teams with low headcount where only newcomers join and people just leave.

• If you get an offer at a big tech company, take that option. The slightly extra $ you get is not worth the career risk. I'm glad I made the switch and got out early.

• Stop complaining about this so-called 'talent shortage' when you are firing so many people and inciting 'fear'. If they are smart enough to join Optiver, they are smart enough to stay.

• Learn how to evaluate performance, provide proper training, and stop putting people in pressured environments where they don't show their true strengths.

• The base salary is low relative to big tech. Pay people what they deserve and stop lumping a significant portion as a 'bonus' and firing them right before it gets paid out.

• Treat your IT people better. Seriously, rather than paying your traders so much, invest in better infrastructure. More build/deployment agents could benefit many devs rather than another yacht for a trader.