Are SWEs in quant/prop trading firms valued?

Considering a prestigious trading firm as a SWE (ie. Jane Street, Hudson River Trading, Citadel Securities, etc) , but I wonder how we are looked at by front office people. The pay is good, but I've heard of SWEs being treated as second class citizens. How much of this is true? Is SWE progression poor at trading firms, and are they looked down upon? Sorry if I am asking in the wrong forum.

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The firms you named all treat SWEs very well. Pretty sure new SWEs make the same as new traders at JS. I think it’s similar at Citadel Securities. And HRT doesn’t even really have “traders”, they have algo developers who also program. Those firms are some of the best trading firms for software… but keep in mind not all firms are like that. 

 

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