Pros
Discovery Communications really does go above and beyond to make their employees healthy, engaged and balanced. The benefits back in 2013-15 were better than any other employer I had or have had since. My division used to offer Summer Fridays, which allowed you (with appropriate 40 hour work weeks M - Th) to take every other Friday off from Memorial Day to Labor Day. There are a lot of resources on-site to make your life easier, like the Wellness Center, boot camp classes, dry cleaning & cafeteria. There are a lot of ERGs, clubs and professional associations that management encourages participation in.
Cons
This is a corporation that trains it's "managers" that it's all about the money. I had a terrible boss who was a terribly insecure mean girl who didn't want anyone to do well but her, especially her direct reports. The culture at Discovery is odd. Women try to act like their male bosses (and trust me, all of them are white males with inflated egos). This creates a weird competitive tension, unusual alliances that on the surface feel inappropriate and if you're a VP or above, you do whatever you can to keep your job. That leaves many of the people in charge not necessarily the most talented business leaders or experts. My boss, who was alledgedly a VP, spent most of her time on the phone, sucking up to her boss by bad mouthing her employees and shopping online. After 2 years, I wanted to apply to another job in the company and my boss did everything in her "power" to make sure it wasn't an option for me, despite having her encouragement and support when she hired me to move within the company after a year or so. HR is only there to handle VPs constantly-changing staffing keepers and get-rid-of-ems. There's a lot of turnover there, for a variety of reasons, but lately the company has made huge job cuts and people are jumping ship on their own to avoid being let go. Despite handing their leader a 30+ million dollar bonus a few years ago, they're still struggling. It's a real shame. That was my experience. Probably a mistake in my career, but it didn't feel like it when I accepted the job. Oh and if you're white, heterosexual and live in Annapolis or Bethesda, you'll fit right in.
