Pros
Fairly decent salary, however my experience has shown me that college degrees will not get you more money, and last I heard, licenses don't either. Many operations jobs do not require any licensing at all, however most (possibly all) branch jobs do. They are very encouraging of career advancement, although if you are not willing to move you may be limited in what would be available to you. The firm is very inclusive, and there many employee networking groups (Veterans, Latino, LGBTQ+, Women's, etc that often hold local events). They also have a global volunteer month, and the firm matches any charitable donation (full or partial depending on organization). They may not be as visible as other firms, but Morgan Stanley heavily encourages and supports local community involvement through volunteering and sponsoring. My experience with most managers has been very positive, with a few outliers (I'm sure that is universal - there are always those few). My interactions with many different levels (VP, Director, etc.) was always welcome and, for lack of a better term, casual (meaning I never felt dismissed or talked down to). Lastly, I feel that the area that I work in has always valued work/life balance not just in words but in practice. In all my years there, through many tax seasons and end-of-year crunch, overtime has never been mandatory when the volume of work needing done (and when the IRS is involved, there's no moving deadlines) is at its absolute highest. Managers will get 'in the muck' with the associates to help, no one is too good to do any job that needs to be done, and I really appreciate that.
Cons
This is a job that I used to love, but things have changed considerably post-pandemic and not for the better, primarily due to inconsistent management (which, from my impression, is largely the fault of HR and NYC corporate). The pandemic was new for all of us, but I feel they had ample time to get certain ducks lined up in preparation for the inevitable return. Morgan Stanley as a whole, I can recommend, but it really is dependent on where you are working and what your department is. Financial advisors will have a different opinion than, for example, someone working in operations. Experiences will vary branch to branch, and certain decisions that one would assume to be firmwide are actually left up to local management. You can have one operations department still in-office optional while one down the hall is in-office mandatory even though the job functions may not significantly differ. Gorman has made it known he wants everyone back in the office regardless of location, but if the pandemic taught us anything, it is that certain job functions do not need to be handled in an office setting, distractions are managed better at home (for the vast majority of us), and significant money could be saved by not leasing office buildings and letting associates continue full-time remote work.