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Bridgewater Associates

Engaged Employer

Bridgewater Associates reviews

3.7

58% would recommend to a friend

(593 total reviews)
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Nir Bar Dea

66% approve of CEO

50% positive business outlook

Bridgewater Associates has an employee rating of 3.7 out of 5 stars, based on 593 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Bridgewater Associates employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Financial Services industry (3.6 stars).

Reviews by job title

593 reviews
2.0
Apr 27, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Money & Free Food Some learning of markets

Cons

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.

2.0
Apr 20, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The Money, the money...oh, and the also the money

Cons

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.

2.0
Apr 10, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Some clever people. Food and drinks provided.

Cons

Fake culture - maybe 10% of population really believe in this BS, the rest adapt and fake it and abuse it. Recruitment process invalid and therefore high turnover of staff because of incorrect processes here. To carry on, the focus on weakness rather than strengths is just plain crazy. Those that survive are merely adaptors and not creators.

Viewing 565 - 567 of 593 Reviews

Glassdoor has 679 Bridgewater Associates reviews submitted anonymously by Bridgewater Associates employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Bridgewater Associates is right for you.