Company: J-P-Morgan
Date: 2018-05-17
Overall rating: 2/5
Employment status: former
Experience level: Senior

Watch your back. Always.
Pros: Lots (and I do mean LOTS) of things to learn and at first glance, the company is indeed big. You can easily spot various and several areas for improvement and if given the opportunity, you are allowed to tweak them in order to adapt to the signs of the times. Also, you can get to be selected, if not volunteered, to be the champion of your respective domain if you are a performer (lots of them there).  Pay is good; benefits are so-so. Lots of supportive folks who will help you along the way. A lot of managers take care of their own and stick to their guns and principles. Some will even go the extra mile to fight for you and your accomplishments and value to the team, if not to the business.
Cons: Ever heard of office politics (a lot of people keep score especially if you put them on the spot and make them seem to lose face; once had a manager who even questioned the feedback received and why such was given. Ever heard of free speech?)? When put on the spot, some people go up the chain (aka their boss) to fight for them, if not clean up their mess). Red tape (would you believe calling up the help desk just to raise a legitimate issue ticket will take you several minutes even for an urgent one when the business is already getting calls from customers)? Bureaucracy (classic case of too-many-cooks-will-spoil-the-broth)? Throw in stagnation (two words: dead end), favoritism (I've worked with a team from different locations and guess which one always gets the early worm despite their tardiness and poor performance), finger pointing (lots of this so HEADS UP and this is the norm by the way), throwing under the bus (also, another one of those "part of the norm" things), ego and power tripping (yep, the moment you meet people who suddenly become leads or managers? oh boy, you're in for a long day), etc. Quality of work? Just a buzz word and the "in thing" is statistics and metrics. Don't get me wrong, but if you managed to latch on to a group with good managers (dwindling number, sad to say and as the saying goes, how come the good ones always get to leave) then you're in good hands. Otherwise, good luck. Things change fast so be on your feet ALL OF THE TIME. One must have a ton of patience, perseverance, guts, and a very thick skin if you want to work for a long time in this company.  Business partners? Good luck as well! Depending on the group and location, some folks tend to be territorial of what they do specifically. Like most companies, everything is a touch move, has to have confirmation, etc. Depending on function/location again, some tend to sleep-walk on the job (you know, going through the motions like a bot, a program), job abandonment despite the fact that they're taking looooong breaks even when it is past the 15 minute or 1-hr mark. You'd be surprised when you get to meet people who are oh-so unqualified for the position (I hate to say this, but again, LOTS of them). Oh, did I mention people also like to cry wolf? or like to press the panic button as if the "world is always on fire?" Your past accomplishments and experience? Throw them out the window and you won't get recognized for having those under your belt. You have to beg the "gods" if you want to take a leave or ask for considerations, etc. and a lot of managers there prefer to impress upper management instead of taking care of their people.  Great discrepancy of work among locations (contrary to the equality value they "try" to espouse). Not being a sour grape, but after a few months on the job, you'll get to see the "real" deal and what you signed up for.