Quantum Futures

It's no secret that finding the right company is the key to reaching your full potential.

For a lot of people, choosing their desired working environment can be overwhelming and time-consuming.

This blog post has been designed to help you identify what to look for in a Quantum Computing company and the best part is this will only take a few minutes to read.

A place to develop

In any industry or job, opportunities for personal development and learning are vital. In the quantum field, this is elevated, with the industry presenting such rapid changes and new challenges.  Every single day, advancements and papers reveal new insights; it’s important your company allows you to learn and explore.

One way to find out whether your prospective company offers this opportunity is to investigate whether they provide time to work on your individual projects. Many quantum companies don’t have specific training and development programmes (many opting for you to learn through your research), so you want to be working with respected researcher partners.

Appropriate infrastructure

With quantum computing still in its infancy, a lot of work is required to ensure quantum supremacy. That’s why it’s extremely important that the company you are about to join allows you to bring your research and experiments into a secure and stable environment.

Perhaps ask to arrange an office tour to judge for yourself if a company has the physical space to support you. At the same time, you can ask questions about the systems they have in place, in an informal setting, to get a feel for the company.

Company culture

Unfortunately, some people don’t investigate a company’s culture before joining. In fact, employees who don’t like their organisation’s culture are 24% more likely to leave in the first year of joining.

Always take time to determine which culture best suits you, whether that’s a casual workplace or a more structured company. Company culture and size often go hand in hand, with smaller companies having a more close-knit feel, and larger companies having a more corporate nature.

This is just a guide. Figuring out a company's culture is something to explore for yourself, whilst remembering every company is different. Perhaps ask for a company trial day to see how employees and management operate. Your happiness and success are highly influenced by the company culture and attitude of colleagues.

The company’s social duty

The majority of quantum companies have a primary goal of achieving a quantum future but understanding the reasons behind their aims are extremely important. To fully commit and work to your maximum potential, consider a company that matches your values and morals. For example, this could be a company that is environmentally friendly, or that doesn’t work with the military.

Consider writing a list of your morals and values and then prioritise them. This will then help to identify companies that match your way of thinking in their mission statements, goals or philosophies. We'd also recommend speaking to people you know and respect already working for companies of interest, to compare their values to your own. The quantum community is small, so even if you don’t know anyone within companies you are interested in, their connections might.

Reputation

When you’re looking at potential employers, their reputation is one of the most important considerations. There are many ways to ascertain a company's reputation. One simple but effective method is to search for a company name and check the latest news articles.

Looking for company published papers is another method, which will not only allow you to find out colleagues’ strengths but give you a potential insight into what they and the company are currently researching and interested in.

Many quantum companies are still in their infancy and may not have been running long enough to accumulate many reviews on websites such as Glassdoor. Instead, you could research which companies and institutions they have partnered with. This may increase their authority and your confidence in their big ambitions.

Another method is asking your network. Connecting with someone who works at your desired company (or has done so previously) can provide insight into their inner workings and help gain an overall idea of how they operate. We understand that quantum is a small world, which makes finding people to connect with a lot harder than it sounds. That’s why we created our exclusive Quantum Leap LinkedIn group to help connect the quantum world. You’ll find the latest developments and more advice here.

Benefits 

Some companies may offer less than your ideal salary, but provide a benefits package that can sometimes outweigh a higher basic salary.

Some benefits to consider that may outweigh a higher basic salary include share options, flexible working hours, free health/dental cover, and a generous pension.

If something is important to you and it's not covered in your initial contract offer, don't be afraid to negotiate.

Conclusion 

We hope this article has provided you with points to consider when deciding the suitability of a company in the Quantum industry.

Quantum Futures partners with the leading quantum companies and can give additional insight into each specific company and opportunity.

Contact us at contact@quantum-futures.com and our consultants will be keen to understand what’s important to you and support your discovery of the most suitable positions.