I've loved my experience at BW (but realize it's not for everyone)
Pros
(I've been at Bridgewater 5+ years) - challenging environment that promotes rapid personal development: i've grown tremendously since working here in ways that have impacted both my professional and personal life, if i got nothing more than that from my experience working here, it would have been worth it. - caliber of people: have had the opportunity to work with extremely bright, conceptual individuals that have fascinating backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. - community/meaningful relationships: the community is very tight knit and i've developed some very strong relationships and wonderful relationships during my time here. There are many BW ppl - both current and former employees- that are a significant part of my/my husband's life.
Cons
- can be difficult to maintain work/life balance: it's a demanding environment and the hours can be long (but in my experience definitely not as long/bad compared to ibanking or other wall street options) - nature of environment/challenges can be stressful: I am naturally a high anxiety person, so i've had my bouts of struggles with stress and anxiety while working here. It is intellectually demanding and the culture, while i love and appreciate it, can be difficult at times and i have to deliberately put in place mechanisms for myself to ensure i'm maintaining perspective and balancing emotions. - culture is not for everyone: you certain have to have a certain value set to work here, and i recognize and appreciate it's not for everyone. I've met fantastic people who just don't click with the culture.