Unless you are applying to work in investment management - Avoid like the plague
Pros
Health benefits.........Great medical, dental and vision....plus they subsidize the costs of some exercise equipment or gym membership...... that is about it
Cons
Vacation- You get 3 weeks vacation as a first year associate yet they don't tell you its based on a convoluted wait list system that takes into account your rank, seniority and the days or weeks you want off. Most of the time people don't get to use their vacation because they can't get the days off. I had a coworker in tears because she couldn't get time off to see family and she asked for it well in advance. Management - Most managers are unprofessional, power-tripping, and have no idea how to manage themselves let alone anyone else. They are constantly belittling someone for whatever reason they see fit. It is so rampant in the American Funds Shareholder departments that you kind of get used to it. Workload - Workload is relatively simple yet mind-numbing and tedious. The work can be done by someone with only a high school diploma. Cafeteria - Supposedly the food is subsidized yet we would get emails every month letting us know they had to raise the prices due to fuel costs and the economy. They run the cafeteria like a for-profit food service. Food is not cheap by any means. Culture - You are force fed Capital Group propaganda on a weekly basis. You receive about 3 months of indoctrination and then you follow that up with new meetings and training sessions on a weekly or biweekly basis that is designed to program you to not think for yourself and obey-obey-obey. As ludicrous as this sounds...just ask someone who worked in shareholder services. Upward Mobility- Nearly impossible and most of the time those that get small promotions see pay raises within a dollar or two increase. The smart people try to move horizontally but that doesn't get you very far. I was lucky and I contacted the Investment Group on my own and I was able to land an interview for a Research Associate To Add Further Insult - If you make the 5 year mark they take you to the LA office to see how Capital Groups employees are treated like actual people. They sit you down in a conference room and they bring in people from different groups to tell you how amazing their jobs are only to make you feel smaller. People who went on this 5 year trip went home in tears.
