u/InternationalShow841

Any recs?? I’m graduating and will miss their pickles dearly. They label them as homemade so not sure what the closest store-bought brand would be, or even what kind of pickle they are

So I am in the lucky position where I am deciding between two job offers for my first job out of college (both swe in finance).

Firm A

• ⁠Big, recognizable name in industry (finance + tech)
• ⁠Interned there last summer and have made a bunch of connections
• ⁠I've met the team and manager who all seem great and have a great team culture
• Niche tech stack (Java + internal languages)
• Frequent, almost quarterly layoffs (edit: quarterly is an exaggeration)

Firm B

• ⁠Smaller name, recognizable probably in finance
• Modern tech stack (AWS, Spring Boot, React.js, Java, Python, SQL, etc.)
• While I was interviewing, the employees seemed pretty passionate about their work and described the culture as close-knit and almost startup-like. They had also all been there for longer than the average duration people last at Firm A.
• Most employees I talked to actually did work at Firm A or an equivalent firm at some point in their early career path before landing at Firm B
• ⁠Located in the NYC metropolitan area, which has always been a goal of mine
• Private firm so not subject to the same market pressures as Firm A (so maybe less of a threat of layoffs?)

TC comes out to the same raw numbers but I would have greater purchasing power at Firm A due to the lower cost of living in the smaller city. Hours and benefits pretty similar as well.

Basically my gut and most people in my life are telling me to take Firm A because it will ultimately open more doors in my future, and that makes sense, but I am so tempted by Firm B's location and the fact that I would be working with modern tools and technologies that would be transferable down the line. I'm also thinking if I want to jump ship or get laid off from Firm B at some point, I'll be right there in the NYC area so there are many places where I could try and find work. Firm A on the other hand, I would likely have to relocate and make a case for it.

This may sound like a no-brainer to y'all but any input is appreciated, I’m very conflicted 🥹

Edit: I also don't know if I want to stay in finance forever, it's not really my passion, more just the road life has put me on. Regardless I'm still grateful for these opportunities. And for more context on the positions themselves:

• At Firm A, I would be working in one of the sales and trading teams on backend technology.
• At Firm B, I would be in a kind of rotational program where I would spend half a year each working with the investments technology team and the client services team. After the rotations I would be put on a team full time.

And thank you guys for all your comments!

So I am in the lucky position where I am deciding between two job offers for my first job out of college (both swe in finance).

Firm A

• Big, recognizable name in industry (finance + tech)
• Interned there last summer and have made a bunch of connections
• I've met the team and manager who all seem great and have a great team culture
• Niche tech stack (Java + internal languages)
• I would be located in a smaller middle of nowhere city where there's not much variety in terms of like young 20s things (nightlife, dating, concerts, etc.)

Firm B

• Smaller name, recognizable probably in finance
• Modern tech stack (AWS, Spring Boot, React.js, Java, Python, SQL, etc.)
• While I was interviewing, the employees seemed pretty passionate about their work and described the culture as close-knit and almost startup-like. They had also all been there for longer than the average duration people last at Firm A.
• Most employees I talked to actually did work at Firm A or an equivalent firm at some point in their early career path before landing at Firm B
• Located in the NYC metropolitan area, which has always been a goal of mine

TC comes out to the same raw numbers but I would have greater purchasing power at Firm A due to the lower cost of living in the smaller city. Hours and benefits pretty similar as well.

Basically my gut and most people in my life are telling me to take Firm A because it will ultimately open more doors in my future, and that makes sense, but I am so tempted by Firm B's location and the fact that I would be working with modern tools and technologies that would be transferable down the line. I'm also thinking if I want to jump ship from Firm B at some point, I'll be right there in the NYC area so there are many places I could find work. Firm A on the other hand, I would likely have to relocate and make a case for it.

This may sound like a no-brainer to y'all but any input is appreciated 🥹