Bridgewater Associates reviews

Not for everyone. Don't come here if you don't value truth over sensitivity, if you just seek a way of earning money rather than a cultural way of being, if you don't care deeply about developing yourself and the people around you, if you have a hard time with continuous change, or if the title, seniority and tenure matter to you. Emotional exhaustion comes with the territory of confronting your weaknesses, like exercising makes you sore but stronger.

Principles, diagnoses, and drill downs are not applied thoroughly or consistently. Drill downs, or issue investigations, are you against the world. People with strong logic and debate skills usually prevail, regardless of the "truth". The more tenured employees generally prevail, regardless of whether they are "right" or not, because others do not openly challenge them. Progress on projects is frequently sacrificed in the name of excellence, resulting in severely missed deliverables and dates. Sometimes projects are stopped or scrapped altogether. "Trading floor" and basic infrastructure is so far below basic levels that it is perilously close to disaster. Company has not been able to make the evolution from a small startup to a stable corporate model because of its' resistance to outsider influence. The people who have been there so long "don't know what good looks like". Seasoned, accomplished people who come in are systematically dismantled until they are no longer believable. E.g., there are no integrated financial / procurement systems, poor annual financial planning (budget), HR department in disarray, IT org. has too many people and is largely ineffective.