Some glimmers of light, though Cary leadership leave little to be desired.
Pros
Contrary to the doom and gloom the media conveys about Deutsche Bank, the wider bank (external of the Cary office) is surprisingly interesting and there are a few nuggets of optimism. With the recent senior management changes at board level, there are some glimmers of sense as the much needed rationalisation has happened in abundance - hopefully the target will soon be on the local Cary Director "leadership" as there is plenty of dead wood to strip there. The working area is ok. Somewhat like a call center instead of a development environment, which is kinda ok as not a huge amount of real development happens here. Elbow room is in short supply, but this is compensated by the comedy of the center wide town halls which are a real hoot! Deutsche Bank benefits are great. Free holiday, pension, health-care and the work-life-balance of what is essentially an easy life make this an opportunity that is hard to overlook for anyone. Second jobbing is entirely possible. Bonuses went the way of the dodo a few years back and this resulted in a brain drain that made us a popular invite for any quiz-based social. Gallows humor is common-place, which is a real positive, especially with the yearly cycle of musical chairs where we are often dumb-founded by the same near-misses year after year. In the absence of old-style banking compensation, the balance of few promotions has swung to "promote anyone" this is good for the long-termers as there must be some corrections to be made, however it's a "Con" too (I'll describe below).
Cons
The nuggets of good I referred to as a positive are sadly not evident in Cary. There are nuggets, just a different type, and this would nicely describe the local directorship. The ego amongst the non-contributor population is often breathtaking. Lots of references to "my guys", but little loyalty come compensation distribution and standing up to their higher achieving counterparts in the Financial Centers. In reference to the "promote anyone" mentality, the quality requirement bar has dropped significantly. Being a senior leader at Deutsche Bank use to really mean something with the MDs and Directors being some of the best in the game, now I would suggest they are operating at a minus one, as-in, MDs are the old Directors, Directors -> VPs and so-on. Self awarding titles such as "President" for technology management with no apparent technology capability is demotivating for anyone with a technology aspiration.