Who has better benefits - Freddie Mac or Capital One?

[Anonymous]

13:50 lol. you made my day!

I don’t work at Freddie but at a big corporation. I’m currently in this position and bored out of my mind. But I have “talent they want to keep”. I guess this is what happens when organizations get too big and are run poorly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:13:50 lol. you made my day!

I don’t work at Freddie but at a big corporation. I’m currently in this position and bored out of my mind. But I have “talent they want to keep”. I guess this is what happens when organizations get too big and are run poorly.

Yea, the crazy thing is Freddie hasn’t been the only place this has happened to me. It was the most absurd example of it to be sure - but I’ve found that it’s pretty easy to end up highly paid and massively underworked if you don’t have good managers who care. The best part about the Freddie story is that when I finally did come back in to quit, half the office had assumed I had just left the company many months ago and was “just visiting”. You can imagine the look on their face when I explained that no, I’d just really gotten into biking and travel.

Sometimes I wonder why I left the job, truth is, I’d probably still be on the payroll if I hadn’t. They just didn’t care.... but I guess my sense of ethics got the better of me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My experience at Freddie was hilarious.

I joined an office that was intended as a “redundant fail safe” post 9/11 - meaning if HQ blew up, they’d be able to keep the lights on because of their redundant teams. Surprise surprise, there was no work to do.

I regularly worked from home M and F. Then I started team golf day on W. Then I started working from home 4 days a week. Eventually I just stopped going in altogether. I had one daily “standup” call at 8am which I dialed into, never got asked a question, and then spent the day doing whatever I wanted.

I tried to volunteer for work - recruiting, diversity hiring, etc - every time I did I got my hand slapped for “stepping into so and sos responsibilities”. Eventually I just stopped trying to find ways to add value, made peace with the idea that if they wanted to pay me to do nothing I’d be fine with it.

I spent about a year at home, cooking, working out and such before I got so bored I went in and quit. By then, the only emails I got were those sent to distribution lists, my manager hasn’t spoken to me 1:1 in 6 months, and I’d stopped even trying to call into the daily meetings because I hadn’t been asked a question for at least 9 months.

When I went in to quit, they offered me a retention package to stay. I stuck around for another 6 months “transitioning” my work to no one.

It’s worth noting I flat out told HR the reason I was quitting was because “I’ve done less than hour of work in the last three months and I’m tired of volunteering and being told to stop”. They STILL have me a retention package.

To say the place was dysfunctional is to put it mildly. I had a fun two years working on my own interests, but for those that stuck around longer, it was a fantastic place to find your skills and employability completely atrophying.

This sounds exactly like my job as a govt attorney. When I tried talking to my boss about having nothing to do, he told me
he didn’t have anything either and that I should take up a hobby. I eventually quit bc I was tired of feeling like a fake lawyer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My experience at Freddie was hilarious.

I joined an office that was intended as a “redundant fail safe” post 9/11 - meaning if HQ blew up, they’d be able to keep the lights on because of their redundant teams. Surprise surprise, there was no work to do.

I regularly worked from home M and F. Then I started team golf day on W. Then I started working from home 4 days a week. Eventually I just stopped going in altogether. I had one daily “standup” call at 8am which I dialed into, never got asked a question, and then spent the day doing whatever I wanted.

I tried to volunteer for work - recruiting, diversity hiring, etc - every time I did I got my hand slapped for “stepping into so and sos responsibilities”. Eventually I just stopped trying to find ways to add value, made peace with the idea that if they wanted to pay me to do nothing I’d be fine with it.

I spent about a year at home, cooking, working out and such before I got so bored I went in and quit. By then, the only emails I got were those sent to distribution lists, my manager hasn’t spoken to me 1:1 in 6 months, and I’d stopped even trying to call into the daily meetings because I hadn’t been asked a question for at least 9 months.

When I went in to quit, they offered me a retention package to stay. I stuck around for another 6 months “transitioning” my work to no one.

It’s worth noting I flat out told HR the reason I was quitting was because “I’ve done less than hour of work in the last three months and I’m tired of volunteering and being told to stop”. They STILL have me a retention package.

To say the place was dysfunctional is to put it mildly. I had a fun two years working on my own interests, but for those that stuck around longer, it was a fantastic place to find your skills and employability completely atrophying.

This sounds like something out of Office Space; totally crazy. How much were they paying you?!?

You could have taken a 2nd job somewhere else and no one would have known.

[Anonymous]

Was the redundant office in Texas?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Was the redundant office in Texas?

No. But I heard there was one there too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:13:50 lol. you made my day!

I don’t work at Freddie but at a big corporation. I’m currently in this position and bored out of my mind. But I have “talent they want to keep”. I guess this is what happens when organizations get too big and are run poorly.

Yea, the crazy thing is Freddie hasn’t been the only place this has happened to me. It was the most absurd example of it to be sure - but I’ve found that it’s pretty easy to end up highly paid and massively underworked if you don’t have good managers who care. The best part about the Freddie story is that when I finally did come back in to quit, half the office had assumed I had just left the company many months ago and was “just visiting”. You can imagine the look on their face when I explained that no, I’d just really gotten into biking and travel.

Sometimes I wonder why I left the job, truth is, I’d probably still be on the payroll if I hadn’t. They just didn’t care.... but I guess my sense of ethics got the better of me.

I had a very similar job as a remote employee in the health insurance industry. When I started I was required to come in to the office once a week. Within a year or so I was no longer required to come in to the office and I routinely would not have any live contact with anyone in my office for 6-8 weeks at a time. No meetings, no calls with coworkers, no messaging, no contact AT ALL from my manager. Nothing. I was a complete island in my "home office". I used to joke that I could die at my desk and no one (at work) would know for 2 months.

I also did very, very little work. I probably logged one hour a day if that. Everyone at my kids' school thought i was a stay-at-home mom.

It was good for a while and then became a major problem. I felt my brain atrophying. I felt like a fraud. I debated quitting for month and years but I couldn't because I worried I'd regret it. Who quits this kind of set-up? Didn't I have it "great"? Sort of. Maybe.

Finally at the 5 year point I was laid off. I was given a great severance package. (so ridiculous!!). Now I'm in my next job and I still somewhat regret the experience because my skills aren't sharp and I missed 5 years of promotions and moving up within a company.

[Anonymous]

^So what happened at your annual reviews? How did it not come up that you weren't doing anything or did you just make up accomplishments?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:13:50 lol. you made my day!

I don’t work at Freddie but at a big corporation. I’m currently in this position and bored out of my mind. But I have “talent they want to keep”. I guess this is what happens when organizations get too big and are run poorly.

Yea, the crazy thing is Freddie hasn’t been the only place this has happened to me. It was the most absurd example of it to be sure - but I’ve found that it’s pretty easy to end up highly paid and massively underworked if you don’t have good managers who care. The best part about the Freddie story is that when I finally did come back in to quit, half the office had assumed I had just left the company many months ago and was “just visiting”. You can imagine the look on their face when I explained that no, I’d just really gotten into biking and travel.

Sometimes I wonder why I left the job, truth is, I’d probably still be on the payroll if I hadn’t. They just didn’t care.... but I guess my sense of ethics got the better of me.

I had a very similar job as a remote employee in the health insurance industry. When I started I was required to come in to the office once a week. Within a year or so I was no longer required to come in to the office and I routinely would not have any live contact with anyone in my office for 6-8 weeks at a time. No meetings, no calls with coworkers, no messaging, no contact AT ALL from my manager. Nothing. I was a complete island in my "home office". I used to joke that I could die at my desk and no one (at work) would know for 2 months.

I also did very, very little work. I probably logged one hour a day if that. Everyone at my kids' school thought i was a stay-at-home mom.

It was good for a while and then became a major problem. I felt my brain atrophying. I felt like a fraud. I debated quitting for month and years but I couldn't because I worried I'd regret it. Who quits this kind of set-up? Didn't I have it "great"? Sort of. Maybe.

Finally at the 5 year point I was laid off. I was given a great severance package. (so ridiculous!!). Now I'm in my next job and I still somewhat regret the experience because my skills aren't sharp and I missed 5 years of promotions and moving up within a company.

Yeah the gamble there is that you won’t need the next job, b/c you will have no accomplishments, no references, you’ll be like a time capsule except without an easy answer like a SAHM. They will smell the slack on you.

[Anonymous]

Freddie Mac has a major issue in obtaining and maintaining management officers from mid-level to upper-level. Most of the management staff hired has no people skills at all, especially their IT department is which there is a high turn-over rate.

[Anonymous]

Cap One is laying off again. They are a mess. Completely disorganized. Good people are leaving in droves. Many quitting without other jobs. From one week to the next no one knows what they are working on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cap One is laying off again. They are a mess. Completely disorganized. Good people are leaving in droves. Many quitting without other jobs. From one week to the next no one knows what they are working on.

Any specifics? Like specific divisions and how do you know they are laying off? (I work there and I agree about total disorganization, but worried because I just recently joined the company and it's not going to look good on my resume if I turn around and leave after a year... Also, am sole breadwinner so would want to move on before they lay me off, and quite frankly I have a gut feeling that my management doesn't like me and I'm be at the top of a layoff lost).

[Anonymous]

Freddie Mac is a joke when it comes to work ethics. Basically if you know about the IT industry, be prepared for those jobs to be taken over by contractors that don’t have VISAs. Freddie Mac also needs to adapt to the 2010s, their culture is stuck in 1985.

Capital One is a bit better, but the company is constantly reorging due to money issues. I think they spent too much of their budget with the new buildings and attracting talent, but the turnover rate is higher.

Freddie is the safer bet, though, long term if you want job security. Capital One has a higher ceiling but it’s risky. You can be hired and let go within 3 months if they don’t need your department anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Capital One no doubt. Not even comparable.

source: ive worked at both.

Can you give examples of benefits at CapOne?

-Another Poster

WFH as much as you want
6 figure bonuses at Dir level and up
Deferred comp plan for people with enough pay
7.5% 401K match
Subsidized lunch
Unlimited vacation
Good health bennies
Easy low stress 30 hour a week job

What is your role at CapOne? My spouse is "Dir level and up" and WFH as much as you want is not true, nor is 6 figure bonus (10-40 seems about what to expect for the vast majority of Directors). Our copay is far higher than the last two jobs that provided insurance. 30 hours a week is also not even close to what they work - more like 40-55.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Capital One no doubt. Not even comparable.

source: ive worked at both.

Can you give examples of benefits at CapOne?

-Another Poster

WFH as much as you want
6 figure bonuses at Dir level and up
Deferred comp plan for people with enough pay
7.5% 401K match
Subsidized lunch
Unlimited vacation
Good health bennies
Easy low stress 30 hour a week job

What is your role at CapOne? My spouse is "Dir level and up" and WFH as much as you want is not true, nor is 6 figure bonus (10-40 seems about what to expect for the vast majority of Directors). Our copay is far higher than the last two jobs that provided insurance. 30 hours a week is also not even close to what they work - more like 40-55.

Business analyst family of jobs. 6 figures is with stock and VS rating. It might be a bit lower at S. A $10K bonus makes no sense. We pay first year analysts that much in bonus. $20K bonus is normal for a Sr associare level. $40K is a good bonus at manager level and I think roughly target bonus at Sr Manager. You spouse is lying about their bonus, is underperforming, or is in some very very different role that’s on a completely different comp structure.


The hours vary a bit by group.