Pros
I have been working at Schwab for a year now and I could not think of a better place to start in the financial world. They pay you to get your Series 7/63 licenses. Literally put you in a classroom and have you study for 5 weeks to get your licenses and they pay you for it. Advancement opportunities are everywhere. I don't know what these other people are talking about but since I started working there I have had the change to ghost with many other departments, which has opened up numerous doors for me. My manager has a one-on-one meeting with me at least once a month where we go over career pathing and things that I need to do my job better. The atmosphere is laid back, dress code is relaxed, and the salary is consistent = no stress to get commissions because we are not paid on commission. Everyday, I get into the office and look at the market and current events and have conversations with clients about whats driving the market and have conversations about investment strategy. Oh yeah, I also can place trades in my own account as long as I am not on the phone with a client. I'm looking to be able to advance into a Financial Consultant role in 3 years.
Cons
I can only think of two cons. 1) It is a call center so you do take inbound phone calls. However, I have never taken more than 90 calls in a day and when I became a Broker I take about 50 calls. 2) The salary is mediocre. With that said, where else are you going to get paid to learn about the industry in a laid back environment? I have looked elsewhere and am happy that I am at Schwab.