I've been scanning other banks on this site, and it's discouraging. Everyone seems to be dealing with the same issues, from layoffs, to toxicity, to bad leadership. I want out, but I don't want to jump from one dumpster fire to another. Is there actually a better alternative out there, or is this just what the industry has become?
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You’re perceiving the situation correctly. There’s a triple threat of competition from unregulated institutions, industry maturation, and tough regulations. These have relentlessly driven down margins since the financial crisis of 2008. Margin compression + flat growth means the only way to maintain profitability is through expense reduction, so that’s what US Bank has done, in line with everyone else. USB has actually been quite soft compared with larger competitors.
One of these days some of you will learn that this is just the natural life cycle of large corporations when they get too big.
Plus the takeover of American Business colleges by Mackenzie mindset, Jack Welch mindset in mBA programs and consultant firms. Shareholder supremacy.
Add to that private equity vultures, deregulation worship, the worship of hating government at all costs even though we could use regulation and antitrust as leverage....
With all this combined with automation and the internet enabling remote workers, this is expected for corporations now that are not growing.
At the end of the day shareholders don't care about employees. They are just a row on a spreadsheet, a resource. They can't even call us humans they call us resources.
There is no hope without radical cultural change in our society. I really don't have a hope for my daughter's future. Our generation is really sc--wed.
You could temporarily find a Band-Aid fix by joining a smaller company that's growing. But even then it's still got the cancerous mindset at the top. And when they sell their company to private equity or go public, it just goes downhill.
The system is the system. The game is the game.
@kd Haven't you heard? It is always the immigrant to blame. A citizen can never be the reason for their own woes.
- U.S. Citizen
Blaming H1Bs is a copout. These people are hungry and grateful for the opportunity to work and advance and they don't have the incentive to take unlimited sabbaticals and health holidays and do the bare minimum and exploit vairous labor law loopholes. Because that would mean they would fall behind in career and life. So could we cool it with the blaming of this latest group of "thems" for our self inflicted lack of perspective? I'm white as milk, by the way.
There are a lot of jobs posted from different financial institutions and otherwise, but there’s also competition when applying for these roles. Other companies are awful try working at Wells Fargo. You will come back here thinking you are working for the best company on the planet. Don’t apply for remote positions like the rest of the lemming, apply for a job and show up.
Ain’t nowhere to go. All Big Banks are the same because leadership all come from same school or consulting firms like McKinsey.
If we see Wells do something, like RTO or outsource to India, we do the same a year later.
Best advice is do your time, pretend it is prison, bid your time, until you can escape from prison.
Someone gave me this advice 30 years ago after we got laid off. Thanks to him, I saved as much as I could and maxed out my 401k and now I can escape prison in my early 50s.
@eh the trades will eventually become saturated with this. Some areas are seeing it happening already.
This all comes full circle. 30 years ago they told tradesman to learn computers.
Small credit unions if there’s openings, otherwise learn a trade such as electrician or plumbing and become AI, indian proof.
Only place to go is financial freedom. I did it. Sold my time to corporations. Invested. Took risks. No one knows. My serenity drives the BMW leasing, conspicuous consuming boss nuts. I the meantime, my entire pay and bonus goes in market. He look at me with pity while he borrows and pays interest for depreciating bling. Satisfying to have secret power waiting for that oh so sweet severance.
I just got out. I'm in product management and luckily my skills were easily transferrable to another industry. I decided to get out of the banking industry entirely. Hoping for the best and wish everyone the best as well. Keep looking and applying.
Indian economy ranks behind Cambodia and Haiti: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)_per_capita
Is everyone starting to learn why?
As long as we important toxic, dysfunctional, corrupt, morally bankrupt Indian culture, this is what our work culture - and, eventually, our country, becomes.
Look at fintechs or small dollar lenders. They pay well and are usually hiring.
What I will say about the other GSIB banks and I’ve worked for 2 of them. Their leaders are miles ahead of ours in terms of both leadership and intelligence. The culture can be intense and higher pressure at times, but I’ll probably go back because it’s still better than what feels like no real strategy other than cutting costs and payments, which puts us squarely up against fintechs that don’t have the regulatory oversight and overhead we do.
Speaks more to the cross section of people who post than the Banks.
Major banks pretty much operate like carbon copies of one another. If you look at the executives you will see they probably came from one of their peers banks.
I have to say your skills can transfer to a credit union. You can try to see if there are opportunities there.
Look to different/new industries, other than banking.
There are tons of jobs out there where your skill set can be used.
Open your mind and eyes to other possibilities.
"SEEK, and ye shall find!"
Click onto the "All Filters" dropdown, and start applying.
Lots of remote jobs here too: https://builtin.com/jobs