Pros
My favorite thing about Aquilent is the awesome people I get to work with. I was worried, upon entering the federal government contractor sector, that I'd be working with a bunch of stereotypical drones, or, worse, competitive back-stabbers, but neither could be further from the truth. The people I've had the pleasure of working with are fun and interesting people who are 1000% team players. Everyone wants their coworkers to succeed, and we help each other out. The company treats its employees very well overall. Every month, there's a social event sponsored by the company, and they're not only some of the best company parties I've been to - they're some of the best PARTIES I've been to. They pull out all the stops, and make sure people genuinely have fun. From bowling parties to days at Hershey Park to picnics to the glitzy holiday party with an amazing cover band and fantastic food and drink, we really do have great opportunities to network and have fun together. They've also recently created a nice outdoor patio area for employees to eat and work in a more relaxed, sunny/shady environment. And I love the treadmill desks! The company, in my experience, is also compassionate towards employees going through difficult times. When I was coping with a series illness for an extended period of time, they sent me flowers and helped make sure I was able to get short-term disability. I had to slowly work up to working 8 hours a day again, and telecommute for a few weeks, and never once was that questioned. They worked with me and encouraged and supported me the whole way, from the HR department to my supervisor to my immediate coworkers.
Cons
There are certain required company activities, including mandatory training sessions and business growth activities, that aren't billable to the client, so you're expected to make up that time. It amounts to an hour here or there, though - not terribly much. It does make it a challenge to participate in communities of practice and such, though, when you know you have to stay later to make up the time (this is especially challenging for parents of small children). Also, under the current structure, there isn't a real mechanism for rewarding taking on additional responsibilities with pay increases. I was hired for a very implementation, boots-on-the-ground position and was quickly elevated to a more strategic position, which was wonderful, but all I got was a small cost-of-living increase and small bonus that seemed to have nothing to do with the work I'd actually put into the project, and when I tried speaking to my manager and HR about compensating me better for the influence I had on the project, I was told that, basically, unless I was running the project, that wasn't going to happen. Frustrating! However, this structure is being overhauled for 2016, and I'm optimistic that there will be improvements in this area.
