Pros
Fantastic work culture! The discounts are decent and the prodeals even better--if you can swing them on your lean paychecks. Sometimes you can win some swag and it’s really cool when that happens.
Cons
What it boils down to is that REI is a paycheck to paycheck job. If you're not a manager you're going to have difficulty ever getting enough hours to survive on. Most of REI’s retail workforce is hired on as seasonal part time workers and they’re often made to believe that they have a shot at moving into a full time position if they meet their goals. Don’t be fooled. It is nearly impossible to be considered for a full time position because there are hardly any. As a part time employee you will be susceptible to highly fluctuating schedules, you'll never seem to get enough hours, you'll be at the mercy of frequent payroll cutbacks, and worse than Walmart wages. Other drawbacks include: dropped health benefits, membership sales are still demanding and stressful, there is a lot of favoritism in play by management, upward movement is nearly non-existent, and there is high employee turnover which impacts the morale (you will miss the employees who have become like family, because they became so fed up and couldn't stick it out anymore). Be aware that If you become one of the fortunate part timers who qualify for health coverage, they’re not guaranteed. You’ll need to maintain a rolling average of 20 hours a week to remain eligible. If your scheduled hours fall below that, then your benefits will be dropped. It happens to alot many employees and it's painful to witness. With that said, if you don't need the hours or benefits it's a fantastic place to work! More importantly, part time employees often struggle and experience hardship you never thought was imaginable at a cooperative renown for its values. REI has sadly been taken over by corporate interests and has lost its way in valuing its people. These days It's all about profits and the bottom line. There's an employee movement and an online petition that are eye openers. You can learn more about the movement by doing a google search for REI Employees for Real Change. The petition can be found by going to coworker.org--just search REI and it should pop up. It's all true. Good luck.