software engineer

consultant

client associate

senior software engineer

customer solutions specialist

FactSet

I worked at FactSet for 15+ years.  Was fiercely loyal, deflected competitors overtures for years. I worked up through several positions but not management, and did fairly well. 

One Friday this March, I was let go. I was told it was a reevaluation of company priorities,  future investment,  etc.  Reality was it was just cost cutting. I had grown too old and expensive,  and recent process improvements I had made to my product line basically "improved" myself out of a job.   

I could have easily moved to another position.  When I questioned the reason for termination, noting the above, the director of product development actually sat there with a cocky grin on his face and said no can do.   Squirming to keep from wetting himself,  the coward jumped up and left me with the HR rep to finish it off.  No "I'm sorry, this is hard in me as well" or any of that nonsense.  

I blame myself for being so loyal to a company for so long and not moving on sooner.  I had been so good at my job that I allowed myself to get pigeonholed into such a narrow role that I'm finding it almost impossible to convert into a new position. 

So in some regards, when I lose my house and my family is evicted,  I will place the blame on FactSet.  But on the flip side,  this experience has taught me to never be that loyal to another firm again.  I will only be focused on the job at hand, and will be constantly looking for that next position. 

I would strongly recommend anyone considering a non-engineering role at FactSet look elsewhere and be rewarded for your efforts.

It is a great place for consultants, engineers, specialists, and developers in their early career, but as one moves up the ranks, it becomes harder to grow, learn, and get to the next level.
Managers are mainly promoted based on longevity and not actual performance or management skills. Many Managers do not know how to manage teams and do not know how to be good mentors for their teams. For example, guiding staff and giving them increased responsibilities. In addition, some Managers expect their staff to learn only from RPDs (questions that were previously answered by other FactSet staff) instead of directing them to the topics that they should learn that would be useful for their roles. Learning from RPDs is mostly like walking a horse to the water fountain, instead of giving the horse the tools and directions so they can figure out their own way to the water fountain. Hey, maybe the Horse will find a better way by thinking critically through the problem. When someone does find a better way and offers the information to their Managers, nothing is really done. The Managers want to continue doing it the same old way.
Teams are treated very differently not only Consultants versus Engineers, but also within the groups such as a Product Developer for one team versus another team. This includes events organized and the way that promotions are given, as well as bonuses. They have an educational assistance policy that is suppose to be available for all the staff, but they have a 'list' that isn't made public that apparently dictates which staff can actually get the funds.

When I joined in 2014 it was a stellar company and the people were great... many of the people who made Factset what they are today we’re awesome and fun to work with.  However many are no longer there.  If you take a job there be sure they don’t pigeon hole you or else you will find yourself looking for a new position.   The new management has become bean counters and always looking to cut employees for the sake of the stock price.   Unfortunately, this is the new corporate world we live in.   No real thanks for putting in numerous hours and weekends away from your family.  It used to be really great place but the culture has slowly deteriorated and it’s hard to find anyone knowledgeable about their systems and data because many of those people have been let go.  I enjoyed my job there and was very disappointed that they let someone with my Database background go because trust me.... no one understood RDBMSs there, I felt like I was on an island.  I guess it proves the people really are the company You do the math and I’ll leave it at that.

FactSet has some excellent people and prides itself on being a great place to work, but is going through a structural reorganization which is stressing the company and devastating employee morale.  This reorganization has been going on for way too long - over a year and they are losing good people because of it.  The firm's revenue model is over-exposed to the investment management industry.  Revenues are suffering due to some major shifts in the asset management industry, like the evolution from active management to indexing (passive management) and lower investment fees overall.  FactSet relies on older technology (workstation) and has severely limited financial instrument reference data, particularly in fixed income and OTC derivatives, as well as a virtual lack of real time markets related trading data.

When I began at FactSet I was employee #140 -- and I now have over 6,500 global colleagues!  I have always appreciated the smart and entrepreneurial culture, which the firm has retained in spite of its significant growth.

Today, my team develops and executes the global marketing initiatives that build adoption for the firm's brand and major workflow solutions.  We also manage the channels that drive internal communications. Our initiatives are a mix of strategic and tactical projects and require significant collaboration with peers across the organization.

My colleagues are smart, driven leaders and the culture encourages risk-taking and new ideas. Over the course of my career, I've been able to identify, and then lead, initiatives to grow the business and drive the culture. Being able to positively impact the firm by connecting independently-defined initiatives with corporate goals is the most enjoyable part of my role.

FactSet is a great place to work but lacks in compensation growth and career advancement. Upper management does seem to care about lower-level workers and communication during my time here has been open and clear. Deadlines are often estimated with plenty of wiggle room and expectations/goals are usually clearly passed down from higher-ups. However, promotions are given without raises and increased responsibility doesn't necessarily mean increased compensation at Factset. Additionally, the 401k plan takes 5 years of service to fully vest. This is definitely a great place for both new graduates to get their foot in the door and a place for people looking to spend the last part of their career with a good work-life balance, job security, and decent pay.

Go to "https://twitter.com/FactSet/status/1268990257556529152" and read the replies to see what went down. In fact, go to Twitter, search for the key word "FactSet" and scroll down to June 5, 2020 and see the different threads for yourself how in less than 24 hours FactSet claimed their employee's Twitter account was "hacked" (a software engineer... hacked?!?! REALLY?!?!). This DESPICABLE RACIST behavior and FactSet's response is UNACCEPTABLE. This incident happened ONE DAY AFTER an global company meeting was held on June 4, 2020 where the CEO seemed authentic about supporting Black Lives Matter. Clearly black lives are not valued to the CEO/FactSet.

FIRE THE RACISTS, ACTUALLY SUPPORT BLM AND COMMIT TO REAL DIVERSITY. WHY IS EVERYONE AT THE EXEC AND SENIOR VP LEVEL WHITE, ESPECIALLY IN YOUR AMERICAN OFFICES?! STOP PRETENDING THAT HAVING A "DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION" TEAM AND HAVING OFFICES IN HYDERABAD/MANILA (AKA CHEAP LABOR) MAKES YOU "DIVERSE."

Great company to work for when you're young.  Comp is excellent as is work-life balance.  The company really values its employees and goes out of its way to make them happy.  At the same time, the company's software is antiquated and carries loads of technical debt.  It becomes more and more difficult to get anything done as time goes on.  New technology and systems exist, but tend to be outdated before they're even fully implemented.  Communication is a huge problem, culture is passive-aggressive where feedback isn't always welcome.  Upper management is terrible.  Development processes are very poor, rely on heroics.  Always 10 years behind what other companies are doing.

Excellent exposure to the investment management industry, great learning opportunity especially for those right out of college or 1-2 years out. Opportunity to come in, work hard, make a name for yourself, and have room for advancement either at the company or at a client in 2-3 years. Executive leadership is lopsided, can be somewhat invisible, but it is a large company. Comp is very linear, benefits are good. 

If you are looking for a place to advance your career this is not the place to go. They do not have formal career discussions they do not have formal reviews annually.  Unless you are a department or person that is bringing in revenue Factset does not care about you at all.  The HR department is extremely unorganized and they get rid of the only people that actually know what they're doing.  Factset is full of lifers and they do not have a clue how to properly manage a run a department.  They will sell you the dream about wanting people from the outside to help them become a real company but are so resistant to anything you propose.  Do not waste your career here you will not learn anything they do not have people for you to learn from

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Software engineer 5 salaries reported	$140,624 per year
Consultant 3 salaries reported	$76,333 per year
Client associate 40 salaries reported	$69,513 per year
Senior software engineer 8 salaries reported	$148,500 per year
Customer solutions specialist 18 salaries reported	$21.97 per hour

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