Ex IB people who went to "trendy" tech companies of all sizes what is it like working there

Been thinking about leaving banking and heading to Finance/Ops in a more trendy company. Partly because of those tik toks of hot chicks working in "Project management" and such roles pulling in $250k spending the whole day doing yoga and drinking tea in sweaters, while i know they were likely over exaggerating how much free time they had its safe to say there isnt smoke without fire.

Even if i am on auto pilot i am sure I could do two of their jobs without breaking a sweat, I guess thats why there has been lots of layoffs but thats besides the point and I am not here to discuss that. 

I have found a lot of good roles from Strategy related stuff to FP&A & Cap Markets roles and the thought of working in a black T shirt and sneakers is starting to look very appealing to me. 

It seems like a good move despite the drop in my salary and bonus but i am curious what working in those kinds of companies are like. 

I can't help but shake the feeling that if i join i would be somehow worked harder than in IB or similar so at least 12 hour days or there would be some other horror story and i would feel totally scammed. 

I wanted to go work for Gary V for the same reason but i heard from close friends that its a trap and the hours they work is comparable to mine on a bad day plus there is less job stability because those kinds of companies are basically one man shows.

I am referring to roles based in NYC at Meta, Apple, Amazon, Spotify, Uber, Google, Microsoft etc

 
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This post feels like it was written in 2021. All of those tea-drinking folk got canned, and in a lot of the commentary they said they were only hired so other companies couldn't hire them... very little work to be done and even fighting in the company over who "got" to do certain tasks.

I saw someone who was hired by FAANG 2 months ago and let go in one of their first few weeks, so I wouldn't assume your cushy corp job is safe either just because they are hiring right now... fp&a/strategy are "back office" for these companies where engineers drive everything, and several of these companies have publicly stated wanting to skew their employee base towards engineers. These layoffs are happening in phases and big tech is just not a very safe place to look for a fairly cushy job in finance at the moment. 

I expect there to be a LOT of personnel and working style changes coming to these companies in the next few months and years. Even if you survive the layoffs your department will essentially be figuring out to operate on 50% personnel and budget. You very likely won't work 12-hour days (and honestly no FP&A role does outside of some insane close process or fire drill... strategy may be close to a 60hr/week though) so if I were you I would find one of these jobs at a slightly more stable company where you don't wake up every day terrified you're going to lose your role.

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Damn, can I piggy back on that FAANG point? what role were they in? did they get a generous severance package? 

If they left their previous role as an analyst for example did they have to go back to their old company or are they still unemployed

 

Friend of a friend so I don't have that many details. Standard severance, not any higher than the usual package just for being new. It was some sort of product management-related role... just pointing out to OP that these job postings aren't necessarily immune from layoffs

Wasn't an analyst, fairly experienced hire (asso/VP equivalent) so they had a few companies of prior experience. Don't think they have a new role yet

Tech is just wildly disorganized and going through a seismic reckoning on expense control right now. I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole

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To add on your points, all of tech companies were in zombie mode pre-2021, meaning they didn't use any brain to justify roles and headcount, they just recruit people for NO REASON. It's like how zombies convert people into zombies. Why do zombies need so many new zombies to join them ?? Because zombies don't have brain. Plain hilarious and ridiculous.

 

A LOT of them probably got laid off in the last few months of cuts, so you're probably not going to get a ton of peachy responses haha

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Look at this everyday.... and this site doesn't even account for layoffs at more "traditional" type companies e.g. 3M, GM, MS + banks in general etc. Shit is going to start cascading - it's only a matter of time. The higher the Fed stays at 5%, the more damage WILL be done. 

Already seeing cracks in multifamily even though that was supposedly as safe as it gets with regards to CRE.

Trucking/Freight? Absolutely brutal. There will be a lot of BK's from the more family-operator types...defaults on tractor truck loans, etc.

 

At a tech company that can be considered a MAANG/FAANG (we have employees that come to us).  Company has been laying people off since 2023 started, with the largest one yet happening this month.  Experienced professional here, but I am not immune to the layoffs even though my role is critical.  Many of the operations staff have been let go, and only a skeletal crew is left remaining (mostly mid to senior managers who have been here forever).  

Layoffs are happening across ALL tech companies from people we know.  I have been messaged by other engineers looking for any type of work available.  

 

All the companies you mentioned for roles have had massive layoffs as you probably have seen and bankers transitioning to roles within those companies are certainly not immune. Generally and anecdotally speaking, the corp dev / strategy role is way more different and more highly coveted than a corp fin role given the level of expertise require to execute on the job responsibilities. That being said, earning a tech job in a non-tech role (read: non-revenue generating role) in this environment is always a risk given you are, at the end of the day, a cost center - no matter what prestigious banking background you came from.

If you are looking to work in a finance / strat role in tech rn, I’d highly suggest adjusting your mindset to recalibrate to 1) not having it be a chill gig where you took a pay cut but are coasting and 2) look at a well-funded, cash-flow generating, non-FAANG company which is poised for growth.

The era of pivoting from banking/consulting to a “chill” FAANG role is over. That luxury is not afforded to anyone anymore

 

Avoid Amazon because it's a pip factory

Avoid Meta because you'll get laid off anytime soon

Avoid Google because it's really slow and bureaucratic and lowballing

Avoid Apple because its wlb is no better than banking

Avoid Netflix because it's a useless app and stock has crashed

Avoid SaaS companies because they are glorified IT outsourcing companies

Avoid start-ups because they're full of paper money and pipe dreams

Avoid AI companies because they're gonna get banned / heavily regulated for the good of humanity

Conclusion: Avoid all tech companies, their era has ended

 

I've had a couple of roles in corp dev at mid sized tech companies and can say they're definitely cushy relative to banking. I'll also say they're somewhat cushier than similar roles in other industries as they tend to pay more and have better comp, but I wouldn't necessarily say they're easier. I think your sentiment of just coasting was definitely true a couple of years ago and might be true to a certain extent today depending on the company, but it's not really going to get you promoted or fast tracked anytime soon. You'll still need to push yourself in other ways than just grinding if you want to advance. For example, a big part is changing your mindset from just executing orders to figuring out what those next steps should be without being explicitly told as well as formulating opinions / thoughts on processes. In some ways that can be significantly harder than cranking out a crazy complex financial model.

Anyway, on another note there are still tech roles out there that feel safe from the general layoff trend, but from what I've seen those roles have some of the following characteristics:

  • Part of a lean team over being a cog in a large FP&A team as an example
  • Sits relatively close to VPs / C-Suite over having several layers of managers / directors
  • Company is relatively financially stable

As other posters have mentioned you'll have to readjust your mindset of what to look for. In today's tech climate it's not as simple as choosing the offer with the most pay, good team, good WLB, that's it. You'll have to weigh more of these factors against each other and think if the role is layoff resistant. Things are kind of scary now, but if you're burnt out from banking and want a more relaxed lifestyle with better comp compared to other industries I'd still recommend it with some reservations.

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