Pros: Casual, relaxed, great work environment, great superiors

Cons: I can work to improve certain things.

Pros: There are managers that are passionate about the work and are open to suggestions. It is hands down the best training program in the securities industry for tech and business with very well thought out courses. Fresh grads should definitely come here to work for a few years, even if taking a pay cut, especially if the securities industry is your focus. It is overall very well structured compared to other hedge funds or prop shops with lots of documentation for everything. Everything is very well planned out for newcomers to pick things up quickly. There is decent compensation for the Philly area. There are tons of talented people and hard workers. I think almost everyone at SIG is giving all they got, but some are just more talented than others. There is free food and snacks and some cool outside activities during the year. Management tries not to point fingers when human error occurs, but actually tries to come up with solutions on how to fix them. This is really a rare trait and is highly undervalued. Everyone is really trying; some just try harder.

Cons: Compensation not really competitive on national market. Growth and mobility is hard because how well defined the company structure is. This is really a double edged sword. Everything is very well defined and breaking barriers is hard. I'd say it's good for the company over all but it kinda screws people over that's been doing the same job for many years without an option for growth. Yearly raises are terrible. You really need to hammer down you initial offer because expecting decent growth isn't going to happen. Yes some managers are just clocking it in and out, but that's not the majority. If you get one of those then I feel sorry for you. Some old tech still in play but a lot of people are working on phasing it out. Too many production freezes and sign offs for changes. They are there for good reasons but some are just offensive. It's like they think we graduated yesterday. I'd say half of all the freezes are completely worthless. Some luck does come into play for progression within the company. Depending on what work your manager assigns you, you might be an all star. Seen some people write some pretty impressive and important things, and some people just got lucky to write the important things. And those are usually turds. Documentation is everywhere and is core to the culture. Switch is also a double edged sword because it makes everyone replaceable. Good luck using what you built as leverage for raises and such.

Pros: Big company so can pay big. Competitive pay for new grads. Free lunch. Other fun perks (poker tournament, free zoo trips, baseball games). Great for introverts. We all had standing desks. Provided WFH setup.

Cons: No titles which I think makes growth difficult-- and harder to use market research in salary negotiations. Lots of individual work and very little collaboration. Work-life balance is a challenge (9-hour days). Most teams stuck in old tech (they don't use Git, some teams still stuck in Python 2). This company is not people-first-- it was clear to me at least that management cares more about money than its employees. Employees have been fighting for the option to WFH for years, and even after quarantine they're still fighting. Really just off-putting company culture. But if you enjoy mostly working on your own, getting a big paycheck, and working for the weekend (no shame in any of that!) then this might be a good place for you-- that's why I think it's not a bad place to end your career. I do think it's a mistake to start your career here though.