Love my colleagues, exec leadership is going downhill - Sr Manager, Marketing and Business Development Charles Schwab Employee Review

3.0
19 Apr 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Culture of collaboration - Great lateral opportunities to move/gain experience in different spaces across the company - Good work/life balance (if you've learned to draw your own healthy boundaries) - 1 month paid Sabbatical every 5 years - Great place to learn about the financial industry

Cons

- Heavily bureaucratic and hierarchical (workplace politics and "who you know" play a BIG role) - Decisions consistently prioritize shareholders over employees (employees feel 15th+ on the priority list). Feedback is encouraged, but then responded to with lip service/heavily manicured surface-level statements - Touts "challenger" and "disruptor" mentality, but in reality, that's quite rare - Schwab is very conservative and most innovation dies on the vine - Run by middle-aged white, male boomers surrounded by yes-men, and it shows in the top-down culture. - Current CEO, Walt Bettinger makes 210x the median employee pay ($24.4M vs. $116k respectively). No confidence in the "heir apparent" CEO, Rick Wurster ($10.7M). - Forced return to office 3x/week. Full-remote decisions are reviewed/rescinded every 6 months. Overly complicated rules with fear-based motivations.

Explore other reviews about Charles Schwab

5.0
6 July 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Relaxed and flexible, high autonomy

Cons

Not a lot of room for creativity

2.0
23 June 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

There are a few great managers here, but they are few and far between. Good amount of sick pay.

Cons

Underpaid for the role. Just another cog in the machine to get tasks done. If you don’t have seniority, but are being mistreated by individuals who are more senior, be ready to shoulder the blame for errors even if you are new. The lack of training is astounding, especially for some departments that are expanding. Lots of koolaid drinking. If you care about being kind and authentic, be careful which team you land with. Take your time during the interview process.

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