client associate

call center representative

operations associate

customer service supervisor

service technician

Cetera Financial Group

Coworkers are friendly and the benefits are decent. However the compensation is fairly poor and bonuses are handed out in a less-than-transparent fashion. 

Management has been very unstable for a few years but seems to be improving. Current management is determined to improve, however on the compensation they are seemingly hamstrung by those higher up the corporate ladder who set budgets, etc., and therefore the management at BOPs is unable (if not unwilling) to grant raises to exemplary employees. 

This may simply be a part of the business model, as corporate has decided the degree of difficulty of the work may not justify higher salaries. The result, however, is that average employees are the ones who stick around for longer periods of time, and the high quality ones who are true subject matter experts -- people who bring a lot of institutional knowledge and professionalism -- are forced to pursue opportunities elsewhere. The company let a lot of knowledge walk out the building because they were unwilling to offer market competitive pay. The result is that there's a lot of under-trained, or disinterested employees who are expected to answer questions from Cetera advisors and they're simply not equipped to provide a quality response. It makes it tough all the way around.

There are definitely times when management tries to pressure employees into overtime. They do pay 1.5x for OT, so it's not the worst thing if you have the time. Things get busy sometimes. It's relaxed most of the time otherwise.

The office environment itself is pretty casual which is nice. There's an in-house party planning committee that essentially tries to keep things fun with little events throughout the year.

Ultimately it's not a company with a lot of upward mobility. But if a relatively relaxed environment and fairly straightforward (repetitive) work is interesting to you, and if you're ok with low compensation but decent benefits, you probably won't mind working here.

Began in an individual contribution role which I mastered quickly. Despite leadership shifts that at the time felt unsteady, I quickly found that I was being given stretch opportunities within my current role, and eventually was promoted into a people and function management role.

While our workdays can be unpredictable depending on current business objectives, I appreciate the shift of pace and priorities, and am excited for opportunities to gain additional exposure and experience. Our teams swim lanes are rather loose, and as a result we are able to work cross functionally quite often. 

The company itself is as transparent as a large organization can be; in contrast to other companies I've worked in, it is far more transparent though still has opportunity to advance from this perspective. The ability to show up as your whole self at Cetera is quite attractive after feeling more like an employee number in a numbered seat in larger organizations.

Overall, Cetera has been (and continues to be) a wonderful place to work. Leadership has given me the autonomy to learn and grow, and as a result, I feel challenged and appreciated. While there are slight defecits in the benefit, PTO, and compensation packages in contrast to companies of similar scale, I appreciate that year over year Cetera continues to expand their packages (with minimal cost increase to the employee base).

First off, I have been on the phones supporting financial advisors for 8+years. I actually worked for a firm Cetera acquired. Typical day consists of taking as many calls as you can back-to-back, open work tickets for issues that cannot be resolved at time of call. You are told to finish call notes at during call in order to receive next call right away. If you stop taking calls to use the bathroom expect to immediately get an instant message about it. FAs being angry for issues not being resolved in a timely manner or getting different information every time they call in.  Coworkers are friendly with one another, managers are just overworked and have no time as is. Bottom line is Op-tempo is unreasonable and ridiculous, not really much opportunity for career progression, nor is there any time to talk to your manager about it.  Think you’re getting a break for a nice team meeting once a week? Not usually the case. Churn and burn through calls is the name of the game. Pay for a licensed Series 7/63 rep was low, 401k time off and benefits were minimal.

I have been at Cetera for nearly four years now and finally have an offer to leave.  I can say with certainty that working for Cetera has been by far the worst career decision I have ever made. 

If you are looking for a one-stop guarantee to tarnish your resume and stall your career, then look no further. 

Cetera's corporate strategy must be to navigate the financial services world like a clueless child, directionless and making misstep after misstep.  They don't learn from the past.

Working in the accounting department has been interesting to say the least. We went without a controller for over a year and had a part time CAO (who was great when he was around).  Some of the responsibilities then fell on the Finance head .  The management from finance is absolutely atrocious. They spend months and months on projects always promising accounting that they are going to solve technological issues but in the end they have to run spreadsheets until 2am during every night during close.   It's a joke from the outside and a nightmare from the inside. 

If Cetera calls, run the other way.

Management has no clue what they are doing, which is evident in the mandatory ton of overtime they require (which was required the entire time I was employed there, still is, and if you do not fulfill the extra hours you will be terminated), high turnover rate, and constant terminations of competent upper management.  They have no compassion for, nor do they care at all, about any life you may try to have outside of work.  Any time off must be submitted months in advance.  Your child has a recital or program at school next month?  Sorry, you will not be able to attend.  Questions, problems, ideas, etc., fall on deaf ears. Extremely low pay for the work produced, promises of bonuses and raises never materialized and/or were 'cancelled until further notice. Micromanagement is their middle name, and I wouldn't recommend this company if it was the last one in existence.  Worst job, and company, I have ever dealt with.

There is a long list of reasons to avoid working at Cetera.
 The management does not give clear directions on specific tasks. I am unsure they know how to properly handle them themselves. Several times, I received borderline hostile emails from management after receiving conflicting instructions on how to handle work items.
The culture is based primarily on seniority. My team required overtime from the staff. If team members did not feel like working overtime they would simply drop their work in my lap. Management did not seem too concerned by this culture.
As a whole, the company does not function well. Many of their procedures and daily operations are nonsensical. My favorite example of this is when they demanded that I work over the weekend because they gave me MLK Day off.

Good people that cared, worked hard, and were trying their best. Executive leadership were the Achilles heel here. They did not have a clear vision, goals, or priorities. KPI's came out mid-year, everything was a fire drill, and then the dept's got blamed for leaving things until year end but had no authority, support, or leadership to initiate earlier. It was an odd place to work. I learned more here than in many places because you really have to figure it out, but I've never heard from so many people, "we don't have the bandwidth". Meaning no one had the time, resources, or people to effectively do their jobs and do them well. That left many things done halfway or poorly executed. It was hard to care and keep doing your best after a couple years. It's good for a few years, learn a lot and move on. 

The department I worked had a very chill work culture. No one really questioned if you came in late or left early (within reason) so long as you get your work done. Allowed to wear jeans and polos to work if you want. Casual Fridays. 

The company occasionally rewards employees with semi-annual parties, but overall does not do enough to "lift" employees up and make them feel valued. Yearly bonus and stipend is pretty small. 

Best part of the job is definitely the people. I worked with a fantastic team, many of whom I can call friends.

The company as a whole was very poorly ran, their leadership skills were a joke and furthermore management was unaware of anything that was going on around them. The departments were all cliques, and everyone was fake. Worst job I ever had from a value standpoint. I would not recommend working for this particular location. Very little room for advancement. This is the most honest and accurate review you will read.

Work typical hours of 8-4:30 in most positions.
I learned a TON on financial markets, how different investment vehicles work, and the operational side of things as well.
Each one of my supervisors was great.  The best ones I have had in my working career.
Almost an unreasonable amount of PTO as I found myself taking days of just to prevent the losing of the hours I accumulated and still carried over the maximum of 40 per year.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Client associate 1 salary reported	$22.00 per hour
Call center representative 145 salaries reported	$23.19 per hour
Operations associate 4 salaries reported	$21.41 per hour
Customer service supervisor 50 salaries reported	$65,000 per year
Service technician 30 salaries reported	$23.00 per hour

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