Ask HN: General distaste of working in Financial companies? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: General distaste of working in Financial companies?

15 pointsjustlearning4 comments

Yesterday, we had this question "Am i making too much?" -

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1754154

Among the discussions, few mentioned the finance as a no-no. I tend to not think of it as a HN bias(pro startups/boo-java).

to quote a few from the recent post: " I work in finance.... but I hate it everyday"; "I am avoiding the financial sector as well as larger institutions like the plague" "I would stay the hell away from them though, personally" "The jobs that pay significantly more (such as hard core finance) tend to pay a lot more because the work is life-shortening, specialized, and reputation-based"

I have read few comments in the past too which mirror similar emotions. So my curiosity was piqued..

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I feel that one of the causes of this bias is that startups are often thought of as the antithesis of "big finance". Because of this, disgruntled (ex)finance people come here looking for a change and a challenge in something completely different (possibly naively thinking that "completely different" means "something I'll enjoy because I don't enjoy what I'm doing now").

The core problems with finance, as I see them (from the inside):

- Many in the financial sector work in companies with 100,000+ colleagues. Depending on the role/department/team/company, it can feel like you don't make a difference.

- Many of these companies are far from 'lean' and are slow moving behemoths.

- Many people get into the sector for the reasons 'staunch' said: quick money.

- The technology is archaic and 'usability' and 'experience' are words that are seldom even known outside of new recruits.

However, most disgruntled financial employees are the victim of circumstance.

I work in finance and love it. My team is small and crucial to the company's core business -- I am made to feel like I make a difference… and I do. Those huge, lumbering systems are fantastic when trying to figure out how to get things working and how to improve them. Dealing constantly with legal constraints can be great fun if you think of them as constraints rather than just "a pain in the ass". The opportunities for learning are near endless. Legacy systems are the most fascinating bit of history I've seen and occasionally I'll spend my morning among COBOL, my afternoon with C and my evening with JSPs.

To conclude: If you're in the right place, finance is fascinating and hugely enjoyable. If you're in the wrong place, it can be frustrating and boring beyond imagination. What type are going to be on HN, mostly? Those who were caught in the last group and are looking for the polar opposite experience to see if this is what works.

I have to agree both with fakelvis and staunch.

To fakelvis's point, IT in finance could be fantastic if you get into a good area (I believe they are far and few). You will be working on cutting edge stuff and decommissioning legacy apps at every opportunity that presents itself for a re-ramp of the app. At my previous employer, I was lucky to join a team with tons of legacy that worked and was problematic. Mandates came down from management and the business users to rewrite and re-platform the old stuff to accomodate new requirements. We were given the green light to build the new platform in whatever way we saw fit. We were free to choose languages, design, and architecture of our liking to accomplish the task. The new platform was strategic in nature as well and was meant to be put in place for a long time. This was a great experience for me and gave me as a developer, the rare opportunity to work on an app from scratch. My user base was great and very knowledgeable in the finance space so I learned alot as well.

To staunch's point, the finance culture is broken and full of megalomania. Tons of developers and finance people with delusions of grandeur. The one thing I hate about the finance industry is how IT is treated and viewed by some parts of the business. We are viewed as nothing more than a utility. Too often I hear developers talking about 'moving up' and by this they mean leaving this creative craft of software development to be on the 'fun' side, i.e. the business end. This, to say the least, is demoralizing to the people that want to build systems for a living when you constantly have to hear this. Given this reality, I think the life of an developer in finance is short-lived. Burnout rates are high and job satisfaction is low. I have yet to meet developers that are excited about career prospects in finance.

I created a blog that will start talking about this and other things I see here: http://techjobsspace.blogspot.com

Anyway, these are my 2-cents. I am also looking to start something up on the side and get out of this dungeon.

I can't agree with every point you've made more.

When I first started in the sector I was confronted with this 'IT is a utility' mindset from 'the business'. It was demoralising.

Luckily, a new CEO came in following an acquisition and the first thing he said in a company-wide conference was how the company needed to value and respect IT more (as we knew more about the company and the systems than anyone else, he said). Overnight, almost everyone in the department came to love their job.

Saying that, three years later and people are starting to worry about their prospects (and rightly so, it seems).

I'm similarly interested in pursuing things on the side (as a serious project rather than a means to 'get out'). If you fancy it, reach out (email in profile).

As for your blog -- the first post is great, keep it up.

The problem with the financial industry is cultural. It's endemically toxic. Every jackass has seen Wall Street and half of them want to be Gordon Gekko.

The only good reason to work in the financial industry is if you want to have the best odds of making the most money as quickly as possible. You just have to not care about almost anything else to do that.

You also have to work with people that made that choice.

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