Pros
-Proud to work for a long standing and reputable firm -Good place to start career and learn banking skills will sponsor for series 6 -Take training very seriously and always classes and updates to go to -Starting pay is OK for Personal Bankers 28K-to-36K depending on experience -You will always know where you rank -Strict 40hr work week although it will mean some late nights and Saturays but you get a day off during the week (Wed or Thur was norm for me) or you get to sleep in and show up at 10 or 11am.
Cons
-SILOS!!! Do not think you can enter this big company on one side of the house and end up on another, that is how it was sold to me at my first interviews and that is not the case. If you start in Retail you are always retail. My goal was to move over into Commercial or Private Client after a few years in retail and that it turns out is just not done. -Pay starts out good for no experience and licenses but doesnt keep up, if you want a "raise" you got to earn more commission, which is tough because the PVC -name of commission system used- is always changing and making it harder to hit the higher payout levels -Very political and your experience good or bad is a direct reflection on who those above and below you are. When applying visit the branch first. Mystery shop them and hang out and see how they run things. Good payout and advancements come to teams that work well together and those openings are rare because people dont leave and therefor you need to know what kind of situation you may be inheriting at the branch.