Good work/life balance but culture is stale and paper pushing runs rampant - Associate BlackRock Employee Review

3.0
Feb 26, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good name on resume Great work life balance (8-5 easily) Nice coworkers, smart people If your main concern is collecting a paycheck and coasting, you've hit the jackpot Decent pay to start (significant pay increases seem to be rare/impossible once you're there Definitely not a terrible place to work

Cons

Depends greatly on your division but there is a lot of dissatisfaction at the company now (and has been for years). Not meritocratic - at least at the VP/Associate level. I see teams that are overstaffed with people who seem to spend most of their time on busy work or twiddling their thumbs in an effort to look like they're adding value. My biggest personal complaint at the Associate level is that I haven't had opportunities to challenge myself or expand my professional skills in a meaningful way. Career growth is definitely possible but it's all about networking. Clearly, networking should be a portion of a good career growth strategy, but it shouldn't be the only thing (in my opinion). If you're looking for an opportunity to develop professional skills and feel like you're making a real contribution (not just pushing paper), I'd be quite careful in accepting a job in the SF office. The company claims loudly to encourage internal promotion but it's simply not the case. Open positions are overwhelmingly filled by overqualified candidates, often from the outside. The result is a workplace where employees in many divisions aren't provided with any real career opportunity besides using the BLK name to find a better gig.

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5.0
Jun 23, 2026
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CEO approval
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Pros

Good team environment and interesting work

Cons

Long hours and slightly competitive

1
2.0
Jul 2, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Branding branding branding!!! an incredible brand, and having it on your resume opens some doors but not all.

Cons

The Preqin acquisition never really found its identity after becoming part of BlackRock. It felt like the focus shifted from listening to clients to fitting Preqin into a broader BlackRock strategy. As AI changes how firms access and analyze private market data, simply being a data provider isn’t enough anymore. My impression was that Preqin’s long-term value is likely to come from being integrated into the broader Aladdin ecosystem and APIs, rather than remaining a standalone platform. Leadership would benefit from spending more time listening to customers and the teams on the front lines instead of assuming they already know what the market wants.

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