What is (Optiver/IMC/Flow Traders/Akuna) Reputation?

I have an offer to be a trader at one of these firms, and was wondering what their reputations are, what normal comp progression looks like, and where people exit to from these roles. Would love to hear people's thoughts. Thanks!

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You try to make as much money as possible as fast as possible until you're worn out. Then you go either into risk management or other trading related positions, or a completely different field of business. This career is not for those looking for a safe career trajectory who plan out their life 20 years ahead. But if you're a fit for the job (succeeding the interview process doesn't confirm this) you'll absolutely love it and you'll be like a little kid who's excited to go to work every day. You'll be working with incredible minds and highly motivated people who are not into the usual politically correct corporate bullshit.

 
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If you have an offer from *one* of those firms, then information about the other firms probably shouldn't influence your decision, unless you expect to be considering the others in the future. I think you're better off thinking about why you're interested in trading and what your alternatives are.
When I was interviewing, the impression I had was that there's not much reputation difference between top firms. However I would say that Flow seems different from the others (Optiver,Akuna,IMC), and if it's the firm you're considering, I would ask around about Flow specifically in order to get more information.
From my understanding, people occasionally exit to more school, other firms or different roles within their firms. I don't think you should go into trading for the exit opportunities, like you might for consulting.

Source: starting in industry now.

 

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