If you are a software developer with fantasies on the move to a Hedge Fund In the pursuit of the big currency, some of your predecessors who have had similar sensations have a warning for you: the job technology jobs may not be what you think. The salary is high for a reason.
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“Many developers fantasize that they will get a job of $ 350 in a Big Mulstrategy FundBut they don’t realize how stressful it will be, “said a main technologist who worked through industry.” When I worked for a major macro fund in London, there was generally at least one situation per week where I thought I was dismissed, “he said.” And there are only two days of work at home; They are called on Saturday and Sunday. “”
Working in technology for a Hedge Fund is a “young game”, explains another main American developer who worked for one of the best funds in the industry, before leaving for a start-up. “I never knew when I would go home,” he told us. “We had a town hall where an old Olympic rower worked there arose and said it was as if he brought back the hardest that he had brought back to his life, and that he had looked around and had seen everyone do the same.”
It’s like working in the special forces or in the navy, he adds: “This is exactly what it is. It’s ok – if you have no family.”
These are not only working conditions. We have spoken to several technologists who have worked for the main Hedge Funds, each of whom talked about the record. They all said the same thing: the technological batteries of the great hedge funds are a challenge.
“The problem of the inherited code is bad enough for many of the established funds,” said a main figure that has directed technological operations for some of the best coverage fund names. “Many of these funds are 20 to 30 years old and there are quite old parts of their technological battery.”
Banks have inherited code Problems too, but problems can be worse in hedge funds. The senior American developer says that the funds historically had an attitude of “if you get money, you can have crazy shit behind the scenes” and that it means both the code base is a mess and that no one has taken the trouble to leave comments to explain it. “The priority is to do shit,” he said. “You get this code that works in a strange way where a guy knew how it worked and left a few years ago. You have to recover it.”
The manager of technological operations in a major fund confirms that this problem is endemic in the industry. “There are a lot of old technologies with bad documentation,” he said. “In many cases, the one who has created it has disappeared, and a poor guy needs to understand or rewrite him. But then it is not modular, and you have spaghetti infra with all the stack.”
Add to that with the need to ensure that systems work 24/7, and it is obvious why people leave. “The cries are better than before,” said the American developer. “- As to are not howls and howlers, but there is still a lot of stress. We had a rule that you could cry out on the system, but not on individuals. “”
If you are thinking of moving to the technology of hedge funds, certain areas of the battery can be better than others. Ruting says the Rear and intermediate office The batteries are often the most loaded with an impenetrable and old code. “I think that the actions of the technology of actions and trading are a pleasant place to be,” he thinks.
However, there may be better options. The developer based in London to whom we have spoken is now working for a common investment fund and says that his life is considerably improved. “I have a good salary in a common investment fund and I can work from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 4 days at home,” he said.
The American developer is now working for a start-up. “After 15 to 20 years to see the result of previous bad decisions, it’s good to build something from bottom to top.”
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