Good benefits and steady work, but beware office politics - Senior Associate Programmer Discover Employee Review

4.0
Apr 2, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Very good benefits (medical, dental, vision, 401k match, ESPP, 25 PTO days/year from the start of employment), gym on site, large cafeteria on site and work-life balance (they allow work-from-home for most). Big company with internal mobility options. Mostly friendly people and good culture. Overall good place to work and I was mostly happy with my time there.

Cons

Salary is very average. Couples with kids get more value in the benefits and work-life balance. Not as much compensation value if you're young, single, and/or childless. Also, the cost of housing around Riverwoods is high, so a lot of employees end up with a fairly long commutes or renting with roommates. Very steady and conservative company, so things can get boring quickly. If you want to move and advance, you'll need to push for it on your own, managers are more interested in keeping things as they are and I have seen multiple instances of employee internal moves get sabotaged. Lots of red-tape and bureaucracy, but it comes with the territory of working for a bank. Office politics is very prevalent. Upper management is very disconnected from day-to-day work and re-orgs are common so management is constantly changing. Decisions are often made based on who is screaming the loudest. From a technology perspective, not much is very new or cutting edge and it's almost impossible to bring in new things or change standards.

Explore other reviews about Discover

5.0
Jul 15, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great work life balance when compared to other companies.

Cons

Leadership at the top level is very secretive and not so open about the decisions

3.0
Jul 12, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Able to work from home, good benefits

Cons

Very stressful. Calls would come in nonstop with no time to take breather between calls. Pay is on the low end for what we have to deal with.

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