There are very smart and intelligent people at the office. Everyone competes against each other in a friendly manner. It never gets to the point where we back-stab each other or step on each other just to get ahead.

Merrill is one of the top IBanking firms in the industry. Getting into the IBanking industry is incredibly competitive. Getting into a top-notch one is even harder. One thing to note is that don't overlook the behavior aspects of things!

Things are merit-based in the wealth management sectors of firms.

Interns should not expect job offers after working for these groups though because the amount of experience you learn on the job does not qualify you.

It is laid back and pretty informal - but still an office. There seems to be a rigid hierarchy that people respect, though it creates some tension.

Interns during the school year are not paid anything.

This is normal, but there is no reason to take an internship here (from my perspective) because compensation in other forms - such as valuable experience - is lacking and/or non-existent.

As an intern, the work was extremely boring. Interns (at least in this division) were not treated well and learned almost nothing. Being relegated to cold-calling did little to teach me about the field I was interested in!

The internship at this branch varies in difficulty for acceptance, but it's fair. If one keeps applying I think it's likely they'll get in!

Merril has a cooperative culture instead of a competitive culture. I enjoy working with my peers (second year analysts), but the older Management do tend to be very conservative. It is quite difficult to get face to face time with the upper management.

Tough culture where the management is constantly looking at your achievements. You feel pressured, but it suits me well. I knew coming into the company that I would work hard, so the long hours do not surprise me at all. The people here make the experience worth while and the knowledge that you gain will carry you to any other career in the future.

There is a lot of hard work; however, you do not constantly feel pressured. A person who works well and is efficient can easily go home for dinner almost every night. Merril is flexible in the sense that I can work from home and come in on the weekends to finish what I need to do.

Merril has an entrepreneurial culture. The company truly values your feedback and welcomes any new ideas. The upper management keeps true to their open door policy and I am able to chat with any of them at any time.

The company is very political and hierarchical. In order to advance, you need to get in good with the management as well as show great value. There is no set promotion timeframe.

good

We work extremely long hours at the office. I feel that we work longer hours than we really have to. The management wants you to stay in the office as long as possible; therefore, my team works a little slower so that we can stay at the office longer. We come into the office early and leave late just because it looks like we're working harder.

Long nights and weekend work. Investment Baning at Merril is just like any firm. You get very little credit for the hard work that you do - its just expected that you work hard.