Bridgewater Associates reviews

Ray's, cult-like obsession with his principles creates a special form of corporate insanity that creates an environment ripe with paranoia...where the Bridgewater Principle Nazis inflict their own version of the final solution on a daily via issue logs and endless interrogating on principle trivia. Bullying, pettiness and insane focus on the totally unimportant is not only tolerated it's rewarded in the name of the principles. It doesn't take long for people to understand that the reason BW pays 2x the going market rate for "talent" is everyone that's smart enough to be hired there knows they're really being hired as a lab rat in Dalio's private Animal Farm.

1. Intense focus on EVERY mistake you make, no matter how trivial. Any mistake will be used against you. 2. SUBJECTIVE review process. 3. Incredibly Hierarchical 4. Fundamentalist Beliefs in the Principles. Your career will be seriously damaged if you disagree too much 5 Believability weighted votes, just like in Animal Farm. You will be ignored if you're not believable. 6. Criticism is not meant to point out your weaknesses so you can improve, it's meant to tell you you're dumb and that the "truth" is you will amount to do menial work. 7. Probability of success is very small. Even with the very generous pay for those who "make it", accepting a job at BW is a negative expected return decision. 8. For experienced hires, BW is likely a career setback. No one will trust you. 9. For new hires, your confidence will be attacked repeatedly so that they can convince you of your "true" potential and mold you in the image of Ray. 10. Learning is from afar... don't expect to actually formulate opinions of your own.