Why The Coolest Job In Tech Might Actually Be In A Bank

Shaken by layoffs and a sense of instability, tech companies are no longer rolling out the red carpet for their employees

- Isabelle Bousquette

Working in a bank's technology department might finally be as cool as landing a job at Google.

The market for tech talent is more measured than a few years ago, but big banks say they are still aggressively hiring. And talent is flocking to the sector, which can offer new hires the chance to file patents and work under researchers plucked from top academic departments.

Job stability and the social cachet that comes with saying you work at JPMorgan Chase don't hurt either.

At recruitment events, students are lining up out the door, according to Christine Tu, a distinguished engineer at Morgan Stanley and the head of artificial intelligence and machine learning in its wealth management technology division. That wasn't happening a few years ago, she added.

Tu credits the interest in part to the sector's success promoting its AI and technology work. Morgan Stanley has talked extensively about its early partnership with OpenAI.

"With all those long lines, people are talking to us. I feel like they also understand there's more and more utilization within the financial area that could match their skill sets and their interests," she said.

16% between 2018 and 2021.

Prem Natarajan said he has been able to leverage his experience working at the University of Southern California and Amazon to bring talent into Capital One, where he serves as chief scientist and head of enterprise AI.