Conservative, friendly, collective
Pros
You get a definite sense that people care about your career here. They are invested in you as a person and don’t mistreat employees systematically (unlike other banks I’ve heard of). Definitely have colleagues who have been mistreated and like the rest of ER, everything depends on your senior. If you put your head down and work hard and play the game you can earn great money, as long as the market isn’t totally against you, and exit opportunities are real, albeit not as easy to come by huge hedge fund offers as in BB elite programs.
Cons
A little political in some areas and Minneapolis runs the show so some non-Minneapolis people feel disconnected. Like all of finance you can get cowboys in certain sectors. You also have the perpetual banking disease of always having to be pissed about your bonus so you get paid more. Biggest problem is just the old school conservative nature. Definitely doesn’t feel like the cutting edge, but that’s tempered by having some individuals who go above and beyond.