Pros
Valuable work experience, great networking opportunities within transportation planning, enjoyed lots of my coworkers
Cons
Most entry-level positions in countywide planning were part-time with no benefits or full-time but with extremely minimal benefits (no vacation hours, only health insurance and minimum sick hours, both as required by law). Many interns trying to come on as full-time or those seeking employment after completing grad school (not just college, but Master's Degrees) struggle to move up into permanent full-time positions. Job-seekers need non-intern work experience elsewhere, hence the Metro adage that to get promoted at Metro, you need to leave Metro (and someday come back at a higher pay grade). "As-Needed" or part-time hours only count as experience *per hour*, ie 3 years of part-time work would only count as 2 years of employment when it comes to evaluating qualifications for promotion or employment above an entry-level position. Metro HR will usually give you the benefit of the doubt and count part-time work elsewhere as if it were full-time if it isn't specified as part-time on your resume (but when they can see your Metro employment status, they only count it as hours worked). No OT paid for part-time employees, even if you work, say, a 10-hour day. Job duties and description barely differ between Planners or Planning Managers and the job title is only dependent on years of experience. So, many planners end up doing work well above their pay grade because of this flexibility. Even "entry level trainees" often do very little "training" and lots of work on par with planners. This does lead to great work experience that will fill up your resume and might get you a job anywhere else, however, those lower on the totem pole often experience lower morale while obtaining said experience. Once you're in as a higher-paid "Transportation Planning Manager", however, people seem to be in for life. More people get promoted to higher levels of Manager than not, as well. It is no surprise that there are more "Planning Managers" than "Planners", by something like 50%, at least.