the people who work on the money making part of the business have neither the need nor the inclination to work with or mentor anyone outside their clique.
outside this clique two sigma is really a hodge podge of wall street scum with an abundance of HR platitudes thrown in. there are people hired from everywhere, but never from the best places. banks, hedge funds with bad reputations, brokerages - you name a firm and you will likely find one of its ex-employees in the 600 odd people who work at two sigma. these people have brought in their own little piece of scum culture with them and have sustained it in little circles.
there are no real promotions, the best reward for most people who do well is status quo. senior hires have rarely come from within - they have been hired from outside the firm (again the exception is the inner clique mentioned earlier - who were "big" to start with).
compensation is just enough to keep you satisfied - and that if you are not looking actively at what your peers are making elsewhere. no one bothers to give you any direction or mentoring. every few months HR comes up with a new and innovative tool but nothing really changes.
despite the image that it projects, two sigma is as much dog eat dog as some of the worst places on the street. the only difference is that here you are almost certain to die a slow stagnating death, whereas at another place you might be forced to choose between an accelerated career or a quick firing.
