Only choose this place if you have NO other option. - Associate II State Street Employee Review

1.0
Jun 28, 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

It's a place to gain entry to the finance industry. Very easy to get hired since there is basically no screening. (A lot of people don't even have college degrees.) Also, if you have no motivation or ambition and are ok with earning a very low salary for your "career" until you get laid off and then re-hired at an even lower salary then this is the place for you.

Cons

So many. Pay is terrible, their idea of career growth is to stay in the same department for 10+ years and never earn more than 50k. They'll lay you off if you work too much OT or earn too much. Everyone there is very unmotivated and almost everyone is actively looking for new jobs. They lay people off every year usually right before Christmas but keep saying they are a "net hire" company. The hiring is only done in Indian call centers. The new building they are moving everyone too has desks set up like a sweatshop, you have about 2 feet of space to yourself and only EVPs get offices. It also only has 80% capacity so that means 1) a huge layoff (in addition to the yearly ones they have) is going to happen and 2) you'll be forced to work from home more. That's generally good but they won't pay for the electricity / heat / AC bills you'll rack up while working at home. It's just another expense the company pushes on to employees. Promotions are a joke - they cap raises at 15% so when you start as a new hire at 40k, you have to get promoted about 6 times to earn an industry competitive wage. Also, internal promotions systems are very backward. HR has incentives to hire outside (higher placement fees) and your rating is completely subject to your manager. If your manager doesn't want you to leave, they can give you a bad review and essentially block you from ever moving (which happens A LOT). The company earns a lot of money from doing backoffice work that no one else wants to do. The problem is they are constantly laying off and cutting pay so their margins can be higher. I've never seen a company with such bad employee morale. It's a great place to work if you are on the executive committee: they pay themselves around 14 Million a year and if things look bad, they layoff a few hundred and then say they "led the company through a tough time."

Explore other reviews about State Street

5.0
Jun 5, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

on-boarding was easy, lot of learning opportunities/clients to service, nice co-workers

Cons

sparse work-load allotted, difficult client assignments, strict vps

1.0
May 14, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Remote work is (rarely) an option, though the approval process is extremely slow and bureaucratic. There are a few well-meaning colleagues who genuinely try to drive positive change before burning out.

Cons

Onboarding and HR processes are severely broken, taking 11 months to approve remote status and failing to prepare basic equipment for day one. The workplace culture is deeply hostile, with anger and yelling functioning as the default communication style across teams. Leadership turnover is rampant, resulting in constant re-organizations, splintered teams, and a total lack of strategic direction. Role clarity is non-existent, forcing employees to invent their own daily tasks while receiving entirely contradictory instructions. Direct management is completely absent; I went seven months without any contact from my boss before being laid off via a three-word instant message and short call.

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