Nothing to do with finance or utilizing your education in a useful way at all, everything to do with sales. - Financial Representative Intern Northwestern Mutual Employee Review

If you are looking to put your business degree to use, you will be sorely disappointed. You will be selling life, disability, and long term care insurance, and doing nothing else. You don't even need a college degree for that. Pay is 100% commission, so don't expect to be able to make ends meet for the first few months. They basically use interns and their relationships to sell life insurance to their friends and family, knowing that most of them will fail or not make enough to sustain themselves and quit. Training is mostly, "We are Northwestern Mutual. We are the best." So, there's kind of a cult mentality. Also, training is 0% product training and 100% sales training. This is so you have to do joint work. Joint work is where you call Aunt Margaret to set up a meeting, and then you get to watch as Johnny Insurance Salesman tries to push an expensive policy or annuity on her. After you quit, Aunt Margaret becomes Johnny Insurance Salesman's client, and he gets the rest of the renewal commissions on her policy. After Johnny Insurance Salesman quits, all of his renewal commissions go to the Managing Director. Oh, and you also have to split the commission 50/50 with Johnny Insurance Salesman on the initial sale. It is one step above a multi-level marketing scheme. They say you will be an independent business owner and get to call all your own shots, but they forget to mention that you will have to meet every week to give your numbers to somebody and have that person scold you. If this is owning your own business, count me out! If you are looking at this, chances are, you are already having your doubts. Trust your gut. The risk far outweighs the reward.