Great structor, awful salary - Participant Services Representative Vanguard Employee Review

3.0
23 Jan 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The way the company is set up is great. This was an entry level position for me, and they had a program that took two years, but would put you into a management position right after that. Pretty great. They pride themselves on never having had a lay-off. They give you time off to study if your job requires that you get licenses (I had a month and a half of paid "no work" time in order to study and test for my Series 6 and 63). I believe that they will do that for the Series 7 too if you go into brokerage. They match 5% of your 401(k) contributions.

Cons

They are only located in Scottsdale, AZ, and Valley Forge, PA. So you had better want to live in one of those spots. Pay is bad. Starting salary for my entry level job was $33,500.00 non-netgotiable. I was in a management meeting once and even management was joking about how bad the pay was (but they say that they make up for it in job security, by never having a lay-off). Dress is very conservative. Even non-client-facing positions require guys to wear suits and ties (except in summer they're allowed to wear a polo because of the heat in AZ). Women must even wear stockings under their pants (my manager actually enforced this, but I've heard that some let it slide).

Explore other reviews about Vanguard

3.0
3 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Awesome coworkers for young professionals. Paid licensing for a few months.

Cons

Micromanagement is out of control. Incompetent team leaders who are obsessed with power and metrics. Back to back calls, limited support, and nearly impossible effective communication between departments. Zero time to cultivate culture because you are taking calls every second of the day except for 30min/1hr lunch and two 15 minute breaks. You’re locked into your role for over a year (apprenticeship for around 60 days, then a year after promotion to associate) and your team leaders will not approve internal applications unless you are “eligible”.

4
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