Sad and Gloomy - Anonymous employee Discover Employee Review

1.0
Aug 7, 2014
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

They have multiple spots to get food on their campus that are actually pretty good, lots of paid time off.

Cons

First off, you are required to take a drug test and fingerprints after you are hired (which is normal), however, I had to wait 2 hours just to get my fingerprints taken because you need an escort to go anywhere in the building if you don't have a badge yet and my hiring manager said she didn't feel like walking over to the other building to do that. Yes, that is literally what she said. So I sat there for 2 hours, without even going to the restroom because the security guard was extremely rude and wouldn't allow it without an escort. Mind you, this was after an hour and a half commute from the city. You are also required to sit in on a class about the building and security during the first week. The security guards roam the campus looking for anything suspicious. You're not even allowed to leave your cellphone out on your desk. Yes, there is a great sense of safety here, but it's also pretty unsettling. Most people seem to be happy and nice on the surface. There was a very nice and young talented girl who moved to the area with a contract to hire position and they let her go after a week without an explanation. They didn't even have the courage to say it to her face. They sent her an email on a Friday after she had left work. I found this absolutely revolting and cowardly. I have found a better opportunity in the city and I am glad to be leaving this miserable place after 10 months.

Explore other reviews about Discover

5.0
Jun 8, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

It was a great work-life balance company.

Cons

After the acquisition, everything changed; the company became toxic by Capital One

5.0
Mar 28, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

One of the most significant advantages of interning at Discover is the opportunity to work with massive, high-stakes financial datasets within a highly collaborative and mentorship-driven culture. Because the company manages millions of consumer accounts, you gain direct experience in how data-driven decisions impact risk management, credit modeling, and fraud detection in real time. The environment is known for being supportive of early-career professionals, offering structured learning paths and exposure to modern cloud-native infrastructures like AWS. Furthermore, the company’s strong focus on work-life balance and a clear pipeline for converting interns to full-time roles makes it an excellent "foot in the door" for anyone looking to build a career in fintech.

Cons

On the other hand, the primary drawback often stems from the inherent bureaucracy and heavy regulation of the banking industry, which can lead to slower project lifecycles and "red tape." You may find that a significant portion of your time is spent on repetitive data cleaning and maintaining legacy reporting systems rather than building the cutting-edge predictive models you might expect. Additionally, because Discover is a massive organization, your scope of work can sometimes feel siloed, making it difficult to see the end-to-end impact of your analysis across different departments. Finally, the current landscape of the industry means that internal shifts or large-scale corporate restructuring can occasionally lead to uncertainty regarding team directions or long-term project stability.

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