Pros
Be your own boss (some exceptions may apply) No cap on income or commission Great company resources and training Generally excellent corporate culture Well established process and systems to track growth of your practice
Cons
It is very, very hard to be successful if you are not well connected or a natural networker. You will have business expenses deducted from your commission by your managing partner or managing director, and you won't have an option to negotiate those regardless of how much or how little value the associated services provide Taxes... you're going to write a check 4x per year to the IRS, and the better you do the bigger the check will be. The beginning stage of growing your practice will require more than 40 hours per week to make it work- they're not likely to mention that the first 5+ years will require 50-70 hours per week on average to build a successful and sustainable business. Most of the senior leadership "grew up" in the business when conditions were significantly different economically and in the sales environment than they are today. Everything from sales credit to the regulatory environment to technology has shifted drastically, and like most companies Northwestern and its leaders are making an effort but still struggling to adapt to the pace of change.