Pros
IREX is a normal NGO with a medium than average size in DC and very friendly work environment. Though, it depends on the supervisor and team. It is very good place to start a career after graduation. One can learn a lot and develop but have to seek out the opportunities.
Cons
The salary is so low that it is ridiculous. Benefits do compensate for the low salary but it is very hard to get by month to month. The low salary does not translate into the low expectations. Program Associates are expected to know and do EVERYTHING including a lot of administrative job and sometimes you get chance to use your brain too. They are expected to work overtime(sometimes not paid) and be on top of everything with only 37,000 pay yearly. The salary difference among positions and grade levels is so huge that the entry level people are discouraged to stay. Promotions are not clearly communicated. Every team does it their own way. So it is really hard to understand who gets promoted and why. Moving from PA to Program Coordinator is like a huge jump in career.They make it ridiculously hard. However, job responsibilities are not that different. Masters does not count as anything in hiring process and do not even try to negotiate the salary on the PA level. They tell you in the face that the salary is non negotiable knowing that you cant refuse because you are a fresh graduate searching for job. The feedback and evaluation is nice. HR is horrible, though they are going through some reorganization so hope that will be fixed.
