An honest review after transitioning to Cetera almost a year ago
Pros
As with most larger size companies there are some genuinely great people that work here but there are also many who are just here for a paycheck. It pays to make friends and internal connections with subject matter experts. There are always new projects starting up and changes seem to be constant, so depending on timing and business segment, advancement can happen quickly. The pay and benefits are OK-decent, but could be better. While there’s change in some areas, others can be stable and very easy to get comfortable with, always work to be done! This can be a good thing for those craving consistency and stability but bad for those looking for something challenging, personal growth and/or advancement opportunities. Hybrid work environment for most roles but must be in office at least 2-3x weekly, and this is tracked.
Cons
Change is constant and training/support aren’t always available. Many acquisitions have led to culture and policy clashes or conflicting info/processes. Many people are overworked and burnout can and does occur. It can take forever for resolutions to come around as most internal systems and programs are outdated. Support is outsourced to third parties and require service tickets to be opened. Updates are also vendor dependent, so things take forever to get fixed, or require annoying long term workarounds. Pay and benefits are OK, but could be better. Advancement opps can also vary across business segments and there’s a lot of promotions based on favoritism or nepotism rather than merit/experience. Lots of little perks like free sodas, snacks, Nespresso machines and such disappeared. Team or department lunches and outings are far and few between. Holiday party went way downhill, although it seems like they might be trying to improve it more recently.