12 May 2021
avoid
Anonymous employee
SEC Reviews
4.5
85% would recommend to a friend
Mary Jo White
77% approve of CEO
66% positive business outlook
SEC has an employee rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars, based on 305 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The SEC employee rating is 24% above average for employers within the Government and public administration industry (3.6 stars).
Reviews by job title
305 reviews
3.0
20 Nov 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook
Pros
Lovely staff and great team
Cons
poor management team that do not listen to staff
4.0
6 Jun 2014
Top government employer in terms of salary and interesting work
Current employee, more than 1 year
Washington, DC
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook
Pros
SEC is on the SK pay schedule verses the GS pay schedule so salaries are much higher to compete with wall street and law firms. Although it is very difficult to get into management (SK 15, 16, 17 or Senior Officer), most persons are at the SK 13 or SK14 level with good salaries. A typical SK 14 ranges from $150k to to regional cap of about $192k. Work hours are excellent and one is expected to work 8 1/2 hours but there is no expectation of late night or weekend work. Generally smart people are attracted to the SEC so it is a good group of colleagues. There are many opportunities for training. Because the organization is relatively small if one is motivated you can always find challenging projects and play key leadership roles. There is a great deal of job security. It seems very difficult, almost impossible to get fired which is shocking for those coming from private sector. There is a lot of turnover, it is revolving door of management - which can actually be a good thing to keep expertise fresh and occasionally create a promotion opportunity.
Cons
It is difficult, very very difficult, to progress to the management level of SK15 or above. It is especially difficult if you are not a lawyer. An an MBA with 18+ years of experience I'm compensated well given the work life balance. However, it is frustrating that there is not more value placed on analytics and finance skills at the SEC and the primary focus is on legal expertise in the Division of Enforcement and elsewhere. There are also pockets of extreme inefficiency and pockets of staff who work like the (bad) stereotype of government workers -- as in barely competent and barely working - perhaps 25% or so. Salary increases are very small generally unless you are a Senior Officer (and there are less than 200 senior officers of the 5000 or so staff). If one is ambitious and wants to continue to move forward there is more likelihood of lateral moves than moving up. The upper most management doesn't make that much more than staff, unlike in the private sector. For example, many Senior Officer make $190-$230k (where $230k is the maximum). Many staff also make close to $200k. Therefore, some Senior Officers try to exert their power through things such as keeping junior staff out of projects they could well handle. It is an unnecessarily hierarchical structure in many Divisions and Offices. another con is that it is nearly impossible to get hired and through the black hole of usajobs.gov.
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