Vantaggi
I'm giving my 2nd review after 2.5 years of employment at FDIC. My first review was more negative due to the excessive amount of travel and the lower starting pay as a new hire. However, as I progress in my career, I have received annual pay increases and a promotion. I'm expecting another promotion in 6 months if I pass the technical evaluation. I found that what we do is meaningful. When I just got hired and was doing my training, I thought the job was tedious, mainly because I was learning call report slotting. And the excessive amount of travel is all due to schools needing to complete the commissioning program. I'm overall satisfactory here despite the starting pay being lower than in the private sector. But the long-term job security, steady pay increase, and a structured career ladder are all benefits that will reward long-term employees. Pros include:
* Great work-life balance
* Lots of personal leave & sick leave
* Employer matches 10% to your 401k (you only need 6% to trigger the max)
* Student loan repayment ($10 per year)
* Stable pay increase (4% per year)
* Structural promotion opportunity (from CG 7, to 9, to 11, to 12, to 13, you can achieve it within several years. Each time it's a 10% pay bump)
* Supportive management (I have not experienced or heard any peer suffering the sexual harassment rumor that the WSJ reported)
* Supportive training environment. Every other senior employee is super helpful and reasonable. They are always there to help. Despite that occasionally, some trainers would give you negative feedback.
* It pays travel reimbursement for mileage and per diem to cover your dining expenses.
Svantaggi
The commissioning program can be stressful, and it depends solely on passing the technical evaluation. If you fail twice (with a score below 70), you will be terminated. And there is no well-written study material for you. You have to collect all relevant study material, including the risk management manual, regulations, interagency statements, etc. The lack of official practice questions imposes another layer of challenge. Cons include:
* WFH got taken away (despite that FDIC operates independently from taxpayer money)
* TE is stressful
* Lower starting salary
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