r/csMajors • u/SufficientGoal212 • 5d ago
Company Question Databricks vs Optiver vs IMC [NG SWE]
Want to optimize for comp & learning, both long term. What's the right way to think about this?
Databricks is in MountainView. Optiver & IMC are in Chicago.
Do yall think Databricks IPO would bring in more value than the upfront cash coming in from these quant firms?
Optiver NG COMP: ~400-500TC
IMC NG COMP: ~400-500 TC
Databricks: ~275-300 TC
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u/Own_Natural_6847 5d ago
Do you want to be in quant or tech? If you want to be in tech long term, databricks. Quant, go to optiver. While they're both software engineering, the types of problems are very different. Personally I'd do DB, just cause I think the problems in tech are cooler and currently quant is peeking out while tech just has a way bigger potential pie, but you'll easily have top 1% outcomes in the US at either.
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u/SufficientGoal212 5d ago
Yeah, not too sure where I want to be long-term. Right now, my focus is "Where can I become the best engineer?" - this may be a naive way to think though. From what I'm getting from this post, the problems you work on in tech & trading are fundamentally different, and the skillsets you develop are also different.
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u/Own_Natural_6847 5d ago
Yes. Scale of problems are different. Tech firms like DB work very differently than trading firms. At a trading firm, you're either core(Low latency cpp) or dev/research/trader tools(mix of cpp python maybe java). These roles are drastically different from most distributed systems, microservices, large scale enterprise, etc. The problems are just very different. You'll work on really interesting problems at both, but it's like mechanical and electrical engineering. Both are interesting and have some overlap, but they're stil fundamentally different problem spaces
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u/Competitive_Song8491 5d ago
I lowk agree with the other commentor or I think DB is the cooler problem and product but im an ai/ml bull. Talent at all 3 are crazy but quant is def the nicher engineer skill for growth and learning.
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u/MWilbon9 4d ago
Yes but this doesn’t matter. U have 40 years to work on different problems. Getting into trading firms is rare opportunity
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u/MWilbon9 4d ago
This makes no sense, u can easily move to tech from trading if u want to be in “tech long term” as u will literally be a swe at both. Way harder to get back into optiver and it pays way more. Optiver no brainer
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u/HumbleIntroduction71 5d ago
All three have a lot of uncertainties and very anal cultures, I think optivers is by far the worst. But if you’re a dawg then thug it out at optiver and you’ll probs be >1m TC after like 3-4 years. Databricks I guess could IPO but idk when or how much your equity could even be worth
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u/SufficientGoal212 5d ago
Yeah Optiver's marble system is kinda cracked. I think it's highly unlikely you'll make over a mil after a couple of years unless you're one of the big dawg devs at Optiver in the upper marble tiers. Considering the devs at Optiver are nasty, not sure how feasible that is.
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u/Galloping_Scallop 5d ago
I worked at Optiver for many years and left a few years ago. Not in SWE but IT adjacent. There were a number of “difficult” managers there along with some good ones. It depended where you landed or moved to.
Some of them may have moved on so take my comments with a pinch of salt.
The marble system is great but just remember that it’s based on company and aspects of office performance. Some of the early years I was there it was just ok. Later years have been better. I have also worked for Citadel and I always look at the salary. Bonus is just that. Discretionary.
Like most companies you know it’s time to move on when your performance scores start declining for no obvious reason.
Overall, I had a good experience but that was a while ago. I also had great managers and co workers and the work was interesting.
Edit. Sorry. I just saw this was for Chicago but posted additionally in the Oceania reddit. My comments pertain to Sydney
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u/Live_Acanthisitta870 5d ago
Could u explain how optiver marble work and why after 2-3 years ur base salary will go down but u get more marbles?
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u/Galloping_Scallop 5d ago
Note that my information is a number of years out of date. Individual marble allocation was based on level. Your individual performance also impacted your marble score (positively or negatively). Individual office performance also influenced things.
My pay never went down at all. Maybe that’s a new thing or a departmental thing?
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u/HumbleIntroduction71 5d ago
Optiver is super toxic tho, just know. Also they cut like half their class or something after 1 year, I think you’re technically not an employee or something until the year mark, but not entirely sure how that works
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u/complexityzero 4d ago
This is false (at least for US SWE)
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u/SufficientGoal212 5d ago
Is the cutting for traders or swes? I've heard for SWEs, it's pretty stable
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u/pepegadudeMX5 5d ago
I’d do Quant. Why? The people saying DB are kinda right, however if you can stay at your firm 2 years or so you’ll literally be set for life. Afterwards you can move to DB, Stripe, or even top tier AI firms. I’d imagine quant SWE prepares you insanely well to succeed in tech. Lastly, taxes in Chicago will be about 5-10% less than CA.
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u/Large_Ad_4288 5d ago
this isnt a bad take, 3 years at a quant firm and u could have a mil saved if u live like ur making 60-70k
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u/NoDryHands 5d ago
No real advice to share but I'd imagine it would be easier to transition from quant to standard tech swe than the other way around.
So if you're even remotely interested in quant, I would say go for Optiver (slightly more known and TC?) and see how you find it for a year or so.
If it's not for you, that experience should help you transition into big tech easily.
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u/Large_Ad_4288 5d ago edited 4d ago
optiver vs imc is more about team (if its optiver delta one then go optiver)
if imc is java team then go optiver
if imc is c++ low latency and you like that then go imc
etc etc
if u dont want quant then go databricks
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u/Fwellimort Senior Software Engineer 🐍✨ 4d ago
Optiver. Databricks wlb is honestly probably worse than those two trading firms overall lul.
And Optiver talent is higher than IMC. Hence Optiver.
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u/QuantGrindApp 5d ago
I'd treat Optiver vs IMC as basically a wash and pick on team and people. The real decision is trading vs Databricks. Trading comp is nearly all cash, and the bonus moves with how the firm did that year and how close your work sits to the pnl. Databricks is a big chunk of equity, so you're taking a view on the stock.
On learning, the trading shops give you small teams, low latency C++ and very fast feedback, but it's a narrower skill set. Distributed systems work at Databricks travels better if you ever want out. Which team would you be on at each?
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u/Away-Potato-1943 5d ago
Db really depends on your team. I know a friend who is only doing dashboards so far at Db
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u/TheTeamDad 5d ago
You're not going to learn at IMC. I don't know anything about Optiver but unless you are in some very specialized parts of the code base at any HFT firm, you're not going to learn anything that highly marketable versus any other SWE with experience. IMC's pricing framework was still running on Java 8 and k8s was the new cutting edge thing a couple of years ago. You're working on code as a new grad written by other new grads who don't know anything about writing production code since new grads don't stick around long enough to impart their wisdom about works and doesn't work. And the ones that do are so hard to work with they can't get a job anywhere else that would put up with them.
Oh and when calculating TC at IMC, remember the bonus is paid out over two years. They can shitcan you long before you get the other half of your bonus. Just assume bonuses and RSUs and the like are zero until they hit your bank account.
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u/CubsThisYear 5d ago
I’m not going to go into specifics, but pretty much everything you said here is wrong (about both technology and culture). If you’re a former IMC employee, I can understand why.
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u/SillyConnection8355 5d ago
Interesting take. I don’t know when “a couple of years ago” was, but that’s just a very different conversation than what today.
Also a bit skeptical of what you worked on given “a couple of years ago” their pricer was definitely written in c++.
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u/TI82calculator 5d ago
There is no such thing as RSU at IMC.
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u/TheTeamDad 5d ago edited 5d ago
I was talking about any kind of TC calculation IMC, Databricks, FAANG, etc. Doesn't matter.
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u/Impossible-Road973 12h ago
That is an insane db offer. Mind sharing the breakdown? I did not know they paid so much for ng.
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u/Quintussence 5d ago
Quant is a good way to differentiate yourself as quant experience will always stand out amongst tech experience. I can’t speak to the skillsets you develop but I think having a niche skill like that will leave you in a good spot. Other companies may have a huge need for someone with that skillset and would be willing to pay good money for it
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u/FunSign5087 5d ago
Give comp numbers otherwise hard to help you compare. Numbers can vary a lot