Pros
There is a decent work-life balance at BB&T. Most employees work 40 hours, with a few working more. Only the managers or super suck-ups are working more than 40 hours a week. Before there were budget cuts you could get fairly decent computer-related equipment without much of a hassle. There are supposedly 40 paid "sick and leave" days per year (in addition to vacation), but you are penalized if you take more than 6 per year. The scrutiny of this benefit depends on your manager. They have a generous 6% 401k match, but it must be invested in a BB&T fund. It is unclear what the expenses are on those funds since BB&T is not known as a low-cost fund provider.
Cons
The culture has been described by others as "traditional" or "conservative". Those are window dressing terms. Modern psychologists would call the culture "a fear-based culture". You must always fear and respect management, and always deliver good news or you fear being reprimanded for being a problem. BB&T does not pay market, and has great difficulty responding to market data or salary negotiations. When I was hired, there was little salary or vacation negotiation. I have heard that new candidates have tried to negotiate offers, and the offers were revoked. It would depend on which division you work in and how enlightened your manager is. Many people are under-worked, so to the fill the time they spend a lot of time gossiping or surfing the internet. Employees band together in very tight cliques. This has lessened in recent years, but this is an environment where people will exhibit coldness and other bullying behavior until you are "accepted" into their group. The standard vacation package is 10 days a year, and they require that you take 5 of those days consecutively. You are terminated if you fail to do so. The health insurance benefit has decreased remarkably in past years. I have not participated in the program since it was so poor, but as of 2009, I believe the best health plan requires a $1000 deductible. They have no concept of "ergonomics". If you need a new chair, you need to bring your own. Some managers are actually very abusive to their employees. My manager regularly screamed at me. Another high profile manager in one of the IT divisions yells at employees and calls them "f*cking idiots!" to their face. Management claims you have "flex time", but they make note of when you come and go. Working from home is frowned upon, and discouraged. Your coworkers are generally very fake and shallow. They act friendly to your face to extract information that they report back to management. They probably view it as a survival mechanism. Training is virtually non-existent, unless you are one of management's pets. Employees are not informed of promotional opportunities or positions. Management "pets" are "groomed" and "selected" for the position way in advance. Dress in the IT divisions is business casual, although you never see any other bank customers. You must update your voicemail daily to say you are in the office. You must always wear a badge and a silly nametag, and attend training on the "Perfect Client Experience". After working at BB&T for several years, your skill set will become so out-of-date that will have trouble finding a job anywhere other than Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
