Pros
The benefits (401, medical, etc) are above standard for most employers. They're also the most likely firm to get you to pass a series 7 if you have no finance experience or degree to fall back on. If you can handle call center work there is some job mobility in that function, just don't expect to get into the back office or anything beyond a phone unless you're a lucky duck destined for management.
Cons
Where to begin...The mantra being preached to new hires is that your contribution matters and you're helping our customers just by answering the call. In reality, training is now so utterly warped and schizophrenic that you likely will need a promotion above the entry level position to assist with anything more complicated than cutting a check or trading a mutual fund. Consequently, it is absolutely crushing that you can't help half the customers that wait hours in line to get to you and that's even worse when you first start to where you transfer 95% of your calls. Management is unhelpful and most of the call center managers you honestly scratch your head at what they actually do other than go to meetings and give you self-directed coaching assignments. As with any call center, metrics are King. I got promoted entirely because I got through calls fast and didn't ask questions only for the next role to be even worse. Certain departments (core/hnw services mainly) have forced overtime right now that is held against you if you don't meet the supposed goal or have other activities that prevent you from doing so. The new systems internally have also taken hold times and raised them exponentially because of the new/barely trained reps having to transfer everything and attrition causes old reps to leave for jobs outside of fidelity or internal promotions with the stress the new system has lumped on them from new hires being functionally useless. Volumes aren't even as bad as they were last year but it's still a high stress job that keeps you tied to a cubicle having to apologize to clients for management failing to see the problem in changing the entire service model at the busy time of year when clients are already in a hurry and coming in in droves. The money isn't enough to make this worthwhile.
