Pros
-Vanguard is a decent place to start off your career in finance. The name carries a lot of respect in the industry. This is a good place to spend a year or so to set up your next career move and break out of the 40k-50k entry-level salary range. -If you're proactive in your development externally like pursuing MBA, CFA, networking to apply to licensed positions beyond the Series 7, you'll likely succeed, (but on the other hand you would be paid more at other firms). The majority of job changes in Scottsdale and North Carolina are lateral moves. Don't expect your managers to handhold you through your career - they're there to make sure you're on track with your metrics and take disciplinary action if necessary. -The career fairs are pretty impressive and you have multiple chances to find time to go there, and the group representatives are pretty happy to talk to you and help you chart out a roadmap to get into their group. It's really important to be visible if you're a low level employee in operations, phones etc. I've seen a few people who've made huge or critical contributions (leading pilots, creating tools, putting a lot of effort into improving the procedures), and have nothing to show for it, while others did get promoted or a special project management position. You have to bang the table and let them know you expect more than an empty thank you to get the conversation rolling. -Healthy, encouraging attitude regarding PTO. Management wants you to take time off, they understand when you have sick days/emergencies and are generally well-meaning. -Some positive changes are rolling out. The new CEO Tim Buckley, I think, deserves credit. One change he made was removing an arbitrary cap on the partnership bonus. My impression is he wants to build a better relationship with the employees. So it feels like he wants to break the pattern of neglect toward the employees and make things better. It is more of a publicity thing since they can just change the formula next year however they like, but for the moment I think this as well as other things are positive signs. -Vanguard is very well-positioned in the industry, despite the problems, archaic technology, and sometimes weak professionalism in back office. AUM has been surging in growth the last few years, they're expanding (they opened a new office in Arizona). The competitive advantage is, as far as I can see, actually gone with Charles Schwab and Fidelity responding to the low expense ratios on the mutual fund side. I would contend that Vanguard has a significant competitive disadvantage now, as those firms have far superior brokerage platforms and commission structures, and now offer equivalent commission-free ETFs that people tend to associate with Vanguard. But right now, the Vanguard branding and reputation for low fees and client-first mentality alone seems to be sufficient in driving growth.
Cons
-Oppressively overbearing 'culture'. The management tries to manufacture a "everybody is a big family here" culture by relentless mandatory team activities, potlucks, lunches. I did the Myers Briggs test 3-4 times in one year. You're trapped in a conference room while everyone is reading their results, one by one. Vanguard refuses to let you just be a good employee and mind your own business. You have to attend a mandatory team Huddle in the morning, and a SECOND one in the afternoon. Every single day, for weeks, months into perpetuity. Everyone has to volunteer and rotate to 'lead' the huddle and come up with something to say, under the watchful eye of your manager and/or the second-level manager who's within earshot. They got this idea from a consulting company they partnered with that told them franchises like Dunkin Donuts do this. You can't safely push back without a manager taking notice and plotting against you. I would've gladly forfeited 4-5 PTO days if the company just stopped trying to claw into my head. This place feels more like an alphabet agency psych experimentation place than a workplace. Less than half my original hiring class is still there in less than 2 years. People can't handle it eventually, and many times they don't even announce that they're leaving. They ghost because they want to dodge the goodbye party/farewell card clown show. -Compensation is low. Management has been very honest in explaining that increase in salary or more OT hours comes out of the clients' pocket, so this is an understandable fundamental limitation. At the same time, this is why as an employee it really does not make sense to be a 'lifer' here. An annual merit raise for an operations associate, entry level, who hits the highest performance standard metrics-wise, amounts to <2%. -Benefits package is terrible in context of the low base salary - the 401k match looks acceptable at first but you're burning money if you stay long enough to get fully vested, because you could realistically be working somewhere else at a higher salary. Vanguard is cunning in that they know mathematically you're likely to be gone in one year than remain, so they bet against you staying longer by locking up your supporting compensation. Yes the 401k vesting schedule is standard; however, you're not even eligible your first year for the partnership bonus. As a new employee I assumed this must be normal; however in my career after Vanguard, I found this is completely false. But, that's the tradeoff. If you're not from a top school or from a finance college background, Vanguard will take a chance on you with licensing and giving you the initial exposure and job experience. In return, you're not compensated much. In that context, Vanguard offers fair compensation which a lot of the other reviews do not acknowledge. -Management is a bit chummy with each other. But, working here is so overbearing already without your manager trying to be buddy-buddy with you. So I guess a blessing in disguise.