Just stay away - Associate Morgan Stanley Employee Review

1.0
Sep 12, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Looks good on the CV

Cons

Where to start? -Extremely long working hours and OF COURSE, unpaid overtime. If you ever ask about overtime or any other forms of compensation for the crazy hours you have worked (e.g. an extra half day off), you will be told off at the best case. You are EXPECTED to stay late. If you try to leave sharp for whatever reason, people will most likely look at you with those annoyed faces. -Extremely low compensation. Increase of barely 1.5-2% on a annual basis, the bonus being even lower than that. To be fair though, I heard that they raised the salaries in 2019, which is good, even though it took them almost 20 years to realise. -Everything is about politics. It doesn't matter if you exercise crappy management, it doesn't matter if teams fall apart and clients leave because of you, at the end of the day you will get the promotion if you know the right people. On the other hand, it doesn't matter how well you perform, it doesn't matter how much time of your life are you investing, there's gonna be no promotion whatsoever, unless you are good in politics. -The mentality about people who are high performers but don't want to get into the politics thing is more or less "rather than complaining, get on with your job. It's an honour for you that you are working here. And don't say much, because we can easily make you leave. There's 10 more people after you, looking for your role". -From what you have understood so far (and from other reviews), management is poor. This, though, won't stop them from pretending that the problems are not there at all. They will pretend that everything is fine, that 11-12 hour shifts is something normal, that the salaries and bonuses are more than enough, that despite the attrition rate might reach 50% everything is excellent etc etc.

Explore other reviews about Morgan Stanley

5.0
Jun 16, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Amazing team that loves to colloborate. Amazing pay.

Cons

Could do better with documentation.

3.0
May 30, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Very good co-workers, Great technology stack. Lot of new technologies and integration with current work.

Cons

They dont even give you a MS cup. They ask you to buy it for 5$. So cheap! Management big on "Giving back", Immediate managers do not like it and are not supportive. Lay off employees twice a year to show profits. Only worried about shareholders and clients. Don't know the criteria for lay-off. So, you are always worried if it is your turn. They boast about mental health and wellness. No good, when they layoff employees like this. HR = Horrible Resources. When you are laid off, they shoo you away as if you are a fly. You feel miserable. They themselves say - "We are better than Facebook or Oracle. We dont fire you at 6 AM over email." Gosh! What a comparison!

See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All