Pros
The people with feet on the ground are phenomenal. Most everyone is smart, friendly, engaging, and willing to push the boundaries of innovation. Even when stuck in a bad project or situation, it has been easy (pre-DOGE) to navigate somewhere else that better-fits your style and strengths,
Cons
Performance achievement process is a total black box. The claim it's merit-based instead of time-at-level, but then less deserving folks get promo'd over superstars bc of time-at-level (even if they don't admit it). The CEO change from John Goodman to Ron Ash has been HEINOUS, and not just because of the start of the DOGE-era (though that has certainly made things worse). Communications don't come proactively.. things trickle down the grapevine as rumors until finally we get official word a week later. An example is when they scrapped the bench entirely due to DOGE - everybody heard about it a week or two before we received any sort of communication from up top. There are certainly some MDs who care about the people at AFS, but many of them are extremely toxic leaders who clearly view the people as cogs in the machine. It's super obvious and everyone from down below resents these folks. Anyone reading this who has worked here likely knows at least one MD/Director who this reminds them of.