Bridgewater Associates Reviews

Pros

People are really smart and good at what they do. I found amazing mentors there who really supported me, and even though I no longer work at BW I will continue to keep in touch with those people. Culture is odd but I enjoyed it for the most part. The unfortunate reality is that BW culture + good caring people = awesome outcomes, BW culture + rude, competitive people = the worst thing ever... and you are going to get a lot of both if you work there. I generally would go back and would recommend giving it a try to others, but you need to talk to people on the inside and get their honest take on the role you are stepping into, if it has good growth opportunities, and if you will be joining a team of good & caring people.

Cons

Technical project manager is a pretty crappy role. You get a ton of responsibility with no actual influence and people don't respect you. Do not recommend My leadership also didn't really care about me, I found good mentors in other areas who were truly amazing and make me glad I had the opportunity. but my experience in that department was not good.

Pros

- Good for lower level employees to reflect on themselves and their ability - Good training for lower level guys - Teaches you to think in frameworked way - Despite all the cons I will further describe, it actually does force radical transparency on lower level guys. That said, be careful with that transparency because it's really just armchair psycho-analysis

Cons

- Not actually transparent at upper levels - Unclear to me if people promoted, actually deserved it - Turnover was brutal in that people kept leaving after 2 years and there were barely anyone at that 3-8 year range - Brutal hours - I also look at the other reviews and genuinely wonder if they're fake by HR - Hides under a veneer of meritocracy but ultimately it's office politics like everywhere else - The metrics to define your impact really depends on the agenda your manager has, not what you think will add impact. Remember that. Normally this is obvious, except that BW likes to hide under the idea of letting the best ideas succeed, it doesn't.

Pros

People are very focused on your development. You get a lot of opportunities and recognition from your merit/success. Real transparency from leadership.

Cons

Exhausting culture of constant feedback, although it is helpful in principle.

Pros

Amazing coworkers who are all incredibly smart, and a team/leadership who actually seem to care. Great pay and great benefits. The commitment to internal talent dev is admirable.

Cons

the "strong culture" can be intense sometimes and scare off newbies who are not used to that kind of thing

Pros

Great Place to Work, highly recommend, they care for their people.

Cons

Management transition has been bumpy, but that will settle in.

Pros

Culture, people. PTO, compensation, management. Overall amazing place to work.

Cons

Not a clear career track for someone who is starting entry/junior level at time due to changes in the company, however, this could be temporary.

Pros

Honesty and integrity modeled by the employees. Professionalism and taking ownership in the daily tasks and projects. The most respectful working enviornment ever! Amazing team building experiences.

Cons

Not enough time to learn the job, prove understanding and application. Minute by minute critique can be overwhelmingly stressful.

Pros

Good benefits and smart people

Cons

I knew when I joined BW I knew that most people didn't make it past the first year. I assumed that it was because of the transparent culture, it's because they take highly qualified people and put them in remedial jobs. Failure happens because the systems are outdated, fire drills are normal, hours are long and you are always in a fight or flight mode. Management knows and wants to fix it but only talks about change, no execution. The skills you learn are not transferrable. I've seen people give up jobs and move to CT only to have gappy employment on their resumes. Before you take this job, probe what you will actually do, it sounds good on paper but you'll feel like a monkey pushing buttons on a DOS system.

Pros

Transparent - you know where you stand!

Cons

I have heard that since Ray Dalio is no longer the CEO, things have changed

Pros

Focused investment philosophy with an investment and client and marketing team with lots of experience.

Cons

Leadership transition and years of meager performance