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Bridgewater Associates Reviews
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    Bridgewater Associates Reviews

    Updated April 1, 2018
    288 reviews

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    3.5
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    Approve of CEO
    Bridgewater Associates Founder, CEO and President Ray Dalio
    Ray Dalio
    173 Ratings

    288 Employee Reviews

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    Pros

    • Incredibly smart people in a culture that invests heavily in deep, honest relationships (in 44 reviews)

    • You learn a lot about yourself and develop a thickness to your skin (in 15 reviews)

    Cons

    • I commute from NYC to CT, which ultimately impacts my work/life balance (in 23 reviews)

    • shamed into working long hours in most roles (in 14 reviews)

    More Pros and Cons

    1. Helpful (2)

      "Excellent"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Project Manager in Westport, CT
      Former Employee - Project Manager in Westport, CT
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I worked at Bridgewater Associates full-time (More than 3 years)

      Pros

      Culture, Challenges, Opportunities for Advancement

      Cons

      Long hours, difficult to move beyond the curve

    2. Helpful (4)

      "Not as special as it thinks it is"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Doesn't Recommend
      Neutral Outlook
      Disapproves of CEO

      I have been working at Bridgewater Associates full-time

      Pros

      People are genuine, they share their views openly (by and large) and you can really get to understand the different ways that different people think
      You learn a lot about yourself and are challenged to think more thoroughly, more strategically
      High salaries, good benefits (healthcare, 401K contribution)
      A lot of options for lateral moves within the company

      Cons

      Skills training for young talent virtually non-existent. Not even basics like excel/data analysis which are expectations in many jobs.
      Some departments go through huge turmoil and don't have stable leadership with all of the kinds of problems that leads to downstream
      Huge turnover, especially in management and administrative roles
      Some things about how the company runs just don't make business sense (use a lot of specialized software developed in house for various management process but don't use any project management software)

      3. Join the Bridgewater Associates team
      See Our Latest Jobs

    3. Helpful (5)

      "A learning experience"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Doesn't Recommend
      Positive Outlook
      No opinion of CEO

      I worked at Bridgewater Associates full-time

      Pros

      Bright people who challenge you all the time. You learn a lot about yourself and develop a thickness to your skin. I took a lot of learning away from my 3 year experience there.

      Cons

      Do not agree that you have to experience so much pain to progress and evolve as a professional. It's not practical for people to always be in pain.

    4. Helpful (2)

      "Client Service Associate"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee in New York, NY
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee in New York, NY
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I worked at Bridgewater Associates full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      The people - brilliant, accomplished and strive for excellence

      Cons

      The culture - it either is or isn't for you

    5. Helpful (22)

      "If there was a hell this would be it"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Doesn't Recommend
      Negative Outlook
      Disapproves of CEO

      I have been working at Bridgewater Associates full-time (Less than a year)

      Pros

      Free stuff, Free lunches, snacks, nothing else

      Cons

      The worst place I have ever worked in my entire life. They don't live in reality here. Creepy. Everything is so fake and everyone just walks around pretending it's all good. It's a cult basically. All white men btw. No diversity. Strict. human being experiment

      Bridgewater Associates Response

      Feb 22, 2018 – Eileen Murray, Co-CEO

      I’m sorry to hear that you are having this experience and would like to learn more. Our culture is built on everyone sharing their honest views, particularly when something may not be working. If... More

    6. Helpful (6)

      "Dog Years of Learning"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee
      Former Employee - Anonymous Employee

      I worked at Bridgewater Associates full-time

      Pros

      BW is dog years of learning. You’re challenged intellectually and supported by incredible people who are deeply invested in your growth. BW is very much a place where the sky is the limit and the possibilities for your career are what you make of them. Through hard work, curiosity, and openness to learning, you can grow within the organization and take on more responsibility rapidly and will consistently be pushed and lifted.

      Cons

      For me, I was commuting from quite a distance to CT, which became too much on the work / life balance scale.

    7. Helpful (4)

      "Great culture"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Finance
      Former Employee - Finance
      Recommends
      Approves of CEO

      I worked at Bridgewater Associates full-time (More than a year)

      Pros

      Awesome culture, totally redeeming
      Great people to work with

      Cons

      Long work hours can take a toll

    8. Helpful (5)

      "Best Career Decision I've Ever made"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Former Employee - Manager
      Former Employee - Manager
      Recommends

      I worked at Bridgewater Associates full-time (More than 3 years)

      Pros

      While at Bridgewater I was surrounded by some of the most brilliant, passionate leaders I have ever met. I was really pushed to think critically on a regular basis, and felt very supported by my colleagues and managers. It truly is an idea meritocracy and you can rise with in the organization pretty quickly as long as you lead with logic, results, high standards, and a bit of patience.

      Cons

      Not all people are bought into the culture and it's pretty clear, pretty fast, who is just "playing the game". This can be frustrating and exhausting for those of us who are all in.

      Diversity? No such thing.

      Advice to Management

      Continue to taste the soup and weed out those who are in it for the wrong reasons. Make the work more meaningful for managers. Contentless management is a sure call for high turnover. Make them feel like they can understand and own pieces of the content as well.

    9. "Great place to work learn a lot about yourself"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee in Westport, CT
      Current Employee - Anonymous Employee in Westport, CT

      Pros

      A good amount of self exploration. You have the opportunity to work with some of the smartest people in the world

      Cons

      Very hard to get things done. Bureaucracy is a bit nuts here. If you want to feel cushy in your job this is not the place.

    10. Helpful (4)

      "Senior Associate"

      StarStarStarStarStar
      • Work/Life Balance
      • Culture & Values
      • Career Opportunities
      • Comp & Benefits
      • Senior Management
      Current Employee - Senior Associate in Westport, CT
      Current Employee - Senior Associate in Westport, CT
      Recommends
      Positive Outlook
      Approves of CEO

      I have been working at Bridgewater Associates full-time (More than 10 years)

      Pros

      I get to work with some of the smartest, most driven people I have ever known. As a result, I'm constantly learning, growing and invigorated by the work I do. In my several years working at Bridgewater, I've also had the ability to transition into different roles which has allowed amazing experience and continued development.

      Cons

      This is a challenging place with a lot of focus on our weaknesses in order to help constant growth and achievement. That can be difficult and not for those uncomfortable with accepting their own limitations or potentially not for those who prefer to have a job that is defined and within the limits of their abilities.

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