E*TRADE is simply a "great place to work," comments an insider. To be sure, the firm's youthful place in the market is reflected in its culture. The firm "feels like a startup at times," says a contact. The environment is "very entrepreneurial and relatively flat hierarchically." As a result, it's "easy to move up from within, because it's not as structured as some" other firms. One source observes, "The culture is reflective of E*TRADE's position in the brokerage industry," meaning the firm's initial goal, unlike any others in the market at the time, was "to allow the individual investor access to the same information as traditional brokers and empower the individual investor with this information." Backed by this mission, E*TRADE's "culture has always been that of a stand-out nontraditionalist; the day-to-day culture reflects this attitude of nonconventional empowerment." E*TRADErs are "young," "energetic" and "vibrant."