Pros
- there are some groups that are well run within the bank, unfortunately I was not in one of them - bank is investing in new businesses that they desperately need in an attempt to catch up to the bulge bracket - if you're a brown-noser type of worker, you may succeed here. unfortunately, if you're actually focused on serving clients, it's best to go elsewhere.
Cons
unfortunately this list will be much longer, so here we go - lots of turnover: i was at the bank for five years, much longer than most people last there. in my time, i saw my group almost completely turnover twice (i.e. they fired everyone in my group and then hired a new group) - distant management: you can certainly talk to your direct manager but try talking to a higher level manager and you'll be put in your place - incompetent management: lower management can fly under the radar for years (and i've witnessed it) without upper management doing much to stop them - they're mostly just concerned about keeping their own jobs. you see this trickle down as non-management also is mostly concerned with keeping their jobs/getting bonuses rather than actually doing their jobs well - low pay: not competitive pay - you do not get paid based on how much commission you made or your trade profits: you get paid based on how much you throw your coworkers under the bus - come bonus time (around the fall), you'll notice people trying to jockey for bigger parts of the bonus pool. instead of focusing on how they can serve their clients best, they try to complain to management about how everyone else is terrible if you're a brown-noser type of worker, you may succeed here. unfortunately, if you're actually focused on serving clients, it's best to go elsewhere.