DE Shaw - Generalist/Rotational Associate Roles

Does anyone have any thoughts on whether or not these roles are worth applying to? From linkedin it seems like the caliber of people in those roles is quite high, but also the role descriptions seem a bit like back office roles. WSO advice tends to be to avoid back office roles like the plague, but I'm wondering if perhaps "back office" roles are different in some sense for a firm like DE Shaw? Any thoughts on this are appreciated.

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RA seems to be ~100k base with some bonus (~125-150k TC). Of course you shouldn't really care, given that you'll only really start making money after being placed on a desk post-RA.

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This comment was originally complimentary of the role. I’ve come back to edit it under new information, as I no longer view the role positively.

It’s a very back office role and I think they laid some people off during the initial market collapse from Covid, which skews where these guys are in the firm’s hierarchy.

 

Back office is back office. If you want an investment career, don't work in the back office. 

I know several people who, right out of college, went to work in a back office position at well-regarded funds, drawn in by the brand name (in one case, it was this exact position at D.E. Shaw). Some of them took those jobs over front office positions at reputable financial firms. It's caused massive damage to their careers, in every single case.

 

Just finished up a first round for RA. Anyone else in the process? Curious if people know the superday format/style.

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