State Street reviews

The salary, the salary, the salary... Oh, did I mention the salary???? I can't even fathom how such a large company that makes such huge profits can be so cheap. They will promise you the world when you are hired and won't deliver. You will be desperate for a job out of college so you will accept the offer of 32k in hopes that future increases and promotions will put you in a better place. You will soon find out that 5% promotions and 2% merit increases (if any are given at all) will make it nearly impossible to achieve a decent salary to survive in the Boston area, or anywhere for that matter. Speaking of promotions, lately they have been few and far between and you have to be a major suckup to even be considered for one... Considered is probably all you will be anyways because they won't give out any money. Each year there are layoffs, cuts to the bonus pool, cuts to merit increases, $0 401k profit share contribution AND to top it off, the 401k match has been cut from 6% to 5%. Once you work here, it is difficult to get out. Chances are, depending on business unit, you will not learn any transferrable skills that can be used elsewhere. You will be a State Streeter for life (or until they feel like you are now making too much and lay you off). I spoke my peace.

State Street is a great place for the complacent. State Street has very relaxed hiring standards which lead to employees of great diversity. The people are very enjoyable to get to know and work with. State Street used to be one of the great stepping stone companies to move onto greener pastures. State Street fails to pay their employees fair market value and stifles growth of the ambitious. Unfortunately new college students and the overly ambitious believe that State Street is a great stepping stone into the financial world hoping to reach the magic lands of “SSGA” (the investing arm of State Street). Unfortunately that is no longer the case, as recruiters from several large companies have stated that they have streams of resumes from State Street looking for greener pasture it has become a daunting task to review all these resumes and find individuals with the skill set that they are looking for. The other problem with State Street applicants is the skill level is hard to ascertain due to the lack of consistency in the training of individuals and diversity of clients and groups. Exposure to learning is relative to the funds and technology that is provided within an individual group within the company. You will see a mix of individuals who will post every entry from hand to individuals who only know how to hit several buttons within a macro. Lack of consistency leads employers to shy away from some candidates in fear of being burned for hiring an employee who does not even understand the basic principles of GAAP. Once the great stepping stone, State Street has become a vortex to keeping young talent from advancement. Compensation in State Street is rather poor compared to its competitors, due to strategy per HR and upper level management. Upper level management has decided to mandate a 40 hour work week lunch not included. As a response to this outrage, the company has increased wages of non-exempt employees which were originally cut but has failed to compensate exempt employees which leads to unfair wage increases for some and none for others. This leads to a problem with experienced workers getting paid less than non experienced employees. Think of the NFL and how Sam Bradford got a higher contract than Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Upper level management has responded with the response that exempt employees were responsible for completing their work no matter how many hours so they do not need additional compensation. They also have responded to employees by saying that their decisions could not make everyone happy and it is a tough economy trying to challenge employees to look for new positions in a tough economy. But sadly, even with the increase for the exempt employees their compensation is significantly lower than their peers with the same experience and same position. Upper Level Management has worked its hardest to change the direction of this company. This company is working on control expenses by any means necessary, from their failed project to incorporate all their funds into India or trying to move the fund accounting work into Kansas city, to trying to encourage a 40 hour work week without compensating their already underpaid staff. If you believe in a winning company, this is the company for you bar the fact that the only one who will be winning is the company. But you will have a safe job until the company decides you make too much money and the layoffs every 2-5 years occur to get rid of you.