USAA is my first career, so I really have no frame of reference. I hear so much about how amazing the benefits are. The PTO policy here seems unmatched, same with the 401k policy. I’ve also heard the job market is awful right now. Can anyone soothe my worries? Is USAA really best of the best for benefits, or is it possible to find something on par/better?
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I don't get how people can get so attached to these companies this day and age. Sure you need benefits for your family but if you aren't moving around every 3-5 years you are being left behind salary and skills wise. Most companies now have similar (almost identical) benefits anyway. A soul sucking place like this loves people like OP that sit there as long as they can only getting 3-5% in raises. Meanwhile real inflation is probably closer to 10-15%. If you really want to protect your financial future, get your education, do certs and do as many different things as you can in your current role then when the time is right move and make more money. I say this not to talk down on OP because I used to be them. I sat in the same job for 8 years making maybe 20% from start to finish, within the next 4 years I moved to 2 different companies and increased my salary over 25% within half the time frame. USAA is not it im sorry the way they treated employees the last year and now the direction their wanna be bank is heading lol I would be getting out ASAP.
I’m at Randolph Brooks FCU, left USAA like others did, after the bonus payout. They only offered me $5k more than what I was making, but less work, less stress and fully remote.
I left to Citibank, same job functions but a higher salary, left USAA making $65k, and now make $77k, and I live closer to the CitiBank office than I do USAA, so I save in gas.
Progressive pays up to 30% bonus. Liberty mutual just had a great year and exceeded their annual goal and paid out 10% more than full expected performance goal which I believe was 20% of pay plus another 10%. Both mentioned companies are allowing remote work. Matter of fact liberty was full remote even before covid. USAA and the peacock are stuck in the old un-innovative ways. Over the last few years, they’ve taken away benefits little by little. Each time they added something, they took something away. Free unprofitable gym membership given to employees since it wasnt profitable anyways, meanwhile on the backend they took away a portion of the medical card loaded for expenses. Claiming nobody uses it anyways, ugh…not sure who they spoke to…medical out of pocket is expensive! Parental leave introduced, meanwhile Retirement plus taken away due to being overinvested in employees (direct quote from CEO).
Those who have left, are you willing to say where you’re working now and if they’re hiring? Lots of us here looking for the next opportunity. TIA
You can always find a promotion from what you are doing at another company. You are also worth the most when you first start a new company. I would say you will be able to financial be better off. I don’t think you will ever find a better 401k. Most companies do not have pensions either. I have never heard of a holiday bonus before. I would also say 20% is pretty good for a bonus from what I have seen. Our medical is pretty good. I have seen a lot worse but I have also seen better. Many companies don’t charge lower paying jobs much for insurance but on the flip side make up for it by charging higher rates to their higher salary employees.
I am putting my notice in the next few days. I was able to improve my salary significantly because of a higher role opportunity. I am a very well paid Lead and I found an equivalent to an ED/AVP so my salary is going to drastically improve. I also negotiated my bonus to be more than double what I had. I wont get a pension, insurance is going up, and my 401k is only 6% match that doesn’t get matched until after the 1st year. The pay and increased experience more than covers the down falls.
You can usually negotiate a sign on bonus too.
Just start looking….you have a job now so the ball is your court when you go looking.
Is there life after USAA? Yes! Unfortunately, Wayne has ruined what USAA once was. I left in March, after the bonus payout, and got a higher salary for less work and stress. While it’s a hybrid position, it’s only 2 days a week in office and the PTO, you earn anywhere between 6-10 hours each pay period (based on tenure), with the option to buy PTO during open enrollment (max 80hours).
But, once Wayne is out, the next CEO will be tasked with improving employee morale, so for those who are able to fight through Wayne and his id--t cronies for the next 2 years, good times will be had with the next CEO.
USAA is not the best in class employer it used to be. Are the benefits great? Yes. But there are now many other competitors whose benefits that are just as good. If you are in your first career, then work a little while there, get the experience and then move on. If you do plan on staying, take advantage of EdAssist benefits and start obtaining some certifications.
There IS life after USAA. I left after 15 years, recently. PTO is comparable to first year, which made me uneasy. But trade off is way less workload, way better pay, random paid half days and not having to take PTO for appointments, so it balances out. Huge also for me is that health insurance is very comparable and half the cost of USAA.
I got a job offer last Thursday so once my background check is complete I will be resigning soon. I will share with you that the interviews I had all contained a negative question about USAA - it seems as if the word is out in the market that the company has its problems and the quality of the personnel is being seen as not as good as it once was - don’t kid yourself, working at USAA (at least in the Risk Office) is not seen as the badge of honor it used to be.
First, I’m sorry, that’s a sh---y place to be in.
I have not found their benefits to be unrivaled at all. As a matter of fact I pay less now than I did at USAA for comparable insurance coverage. Saying that USAA has an outstanding maternity/paternity leave which would be hard to beat. PTO is comparable for a new employee (except Frost which seems to be stuck in the early 80s), by that I mean other companies offer the same as a new employee at USAA. The buy/sell thing seems to be relatively standard. I will say I do miss Starbucks and the cafes.
There is a happy life outside the gates.
Here’s the thing, when you join USAA you quickly become about the mission. You believe in it, you trust it, and you trust leadership is on that same path. You work your a-s off for it, you donate time, you work on weekends and answer emails at night because it’s the right thing to do, ‘we serve those who serve’. It feels very noble. But the truth is it’s become gaslighting. A means to control and squeeze every ounce of productivity from you …. For the mission. When you lose transparency and safety, when you realize you’re not a team but a simple expendable number, it turns toxic. What are you giving so much of yourself for? I promise you will be ok if the worst happens, more there’s great opportunity for you to be better than ever.
The financial industry is increasing the benefits to be on par with usaa, but they have better pay of 30-50%. If you’re at usaa, leave. If you’re in a technical role, it’ll take time to study for interviews because of how behind it is, but at least usaa has a good reputation.