Some great people to work with, but the job keeps getting harder.
Pros
Some of the people I work with have such impressive credentials, have done some really ground-breaking work and are not only national but global leaders. My team has remained relatively stable during the URS and prior acquisitions, which has helped my personal experience tremendously. For go-getters, there is literally a world of opportunities, if you point yourself on the path to take advantage of them.
Cons
Organization changes constantly. If you don't like your boss, hang in there! Your chain of command will probably be different in the next fiscal year! Constant acquisitions mean just when you've figured out the organization and where to go for what, it will change again. Not a place for people who need a lot of hand-holding. As a result, it's not an easy place to join. The other main con is a lack of a real career path. The company has produced a booklet about career journeys but it lacks any real guidance for what that means for you. Refer to point 1 about being a go-getter. And since it's that time of year, everyone is complaining again about the performance management system that forces rating on a curve. First of all, we've had so many layoff that most of the people on the bottom of the curve are gone. Second of all we've had far more than 15% who deserve to be on the top of the curve because they've had to pick up workload for these other people who were not replaced with anyone. Third, if you want us to be the best, don't force us into a curve of mediocrity. This would be tolerable if people could expect to see a promotion occasionally. If you're in an overhead position and regularly working 50-60 hour weeks, you may occasionally see a spot bonus but not end-of-year bonus and not a promotion. That's just demoralizing.
