Avantages
RBC is a large company, with all of the attendant advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side, there is a clear organizational structure, there are decent employee benefits, and the employees are generally a lovely and genuinely diverse group of people. Salaries for low level employees (PL 12-9) and very high level employees (PL 1-5) are generous. There are also generous provisions for sick days and religious holidays. Due to its size and reach, for many employees, but not all (it depends on the business unit, your level, and your skillset), there are a good number of opportunities to make a lateral move to other areas and business groups. Good work life balance in many (most?) business units. Its like working for private sector government. A lot of business units are also quite good about flex hours. Employees commuting in from other cities are allowed to come and leave earlier.
Inconvénients
The negatives are as follows: 1) RBC is highly bureaucratic (making it difficult to get a quick decision made on anything that has not been explicitly anticipated, and very difficult to get an exception to policy made). 2) Salaries are on the low side for mid-level employees (PL 9-6) compared to other institutions (both larger and smaller). 3) A lot of policies affecting people who actually do work are made by people who have very little idea of what that work actually involves. 4) Depending on the business unit, they can be slow to hire people, and leave people overworked for periods of time. 5) Mid and upper level management are very driven by short term results, as many of them hope not to stay in their position or at RBC for very long, and often make decisions to make themselves look good in the short-term (like not hiring people, or hiring under qualified people, so that team/business unit expenses are kept down), as opposed to what is in the best long term interests of the company. 6) Raises are weak, and often do not even keep up with inflation. Negotiate your salary when you are hired and do not assume it will go up over time! 7) Employees are seen as machines. 8) Senior management is badly out of touch (or they simply do not care, which may be more likely).