Pros
Just in case you are not aware, BSA divides itself into Councils. Think of Councils as being franchised out... kinda. Every Council has a CEO and it's own culture. Councils right next to each other geographically, can be completely different when it comes to process, culture, work/life balance, you name it. This was my experience, at the council I was a part of. -Entry level pay is fantastic... Seriously... it was pretty good for the area. All my friends were jealous. -Benefits are great, if it is just you on your plan. I brought my wife onto the plan and obviously had to start paying some serious cash for health insurance. -The relationships I made with volunteers & coworkers will last for a lifetime. -Connections, Connections, Connections. I was a part of Rotary (BSA paid for fees) and that gave me some fantastic relationships. Got connected in the school system as well. -Pretty nice expense report (Phone, Internet, Gas, etc.) -Did I mention great connections. -If you can get past the first hump as a DE, you can basically go anywhere. -Management experience with volunteers, committees, events, campaigns, you name it. -Every once in a while you spend time with the youth and adults "in the trenches" and get that warm fuzzy feeling. -The Council I was with was very well off financially. I never worried about a pay check. -If you think of yourself as doer, sales kinda person. This job is for you... and to be honest... It kinda felt like House of Cards when it came to fact that I was always working & back door politics kind of stuff.
Cons
-TIME... Work/life balance is so pathetic. It is absolutely horrendous. It is so bad. Management kept pushing to call our jobs a career, which it is, but it is more like a calling... like a monk. like a devote priest in the middle ages. If you are a District Executive, you are Mr. Boy Scout everywhere you go... Everywhere. -RETENTION...Retention of their employees was as bad as me keeping girlfriends in high school. New people would ghost every once in a while. People quit left and right. -MEMBERSHIP.... My council obsessed over membership, because they have something that no other council in the nation has... 30+ years of membership growth. Which if you know anything about the state of good ole' BSA... That is incredible and unheard of... But tread lightly, the culture and expectation that has put on the council and it's employees is not something I could stand being a part of. Membership is a number. HYPOCRISY... A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent.... all those things apply.... just not if you get paid by the Scouts. That being said, if you grew up in the BSA. This factor will be a hard one to swallow. BAD COMMUNICATION... This is an obvious one for just about everything in the world, and can be argued that bad communication is the core to all cons, but let me talk about how bad it was at my Council. It was the classic say one thing mean another. Things were expected with never being mentioned. Yelling and belittlement was abundant (though this did get better near the end of my stay). INEFFICIENCY... "Follow the Plan". If I had a nickel every time I heard that. Everything was so wasteful. I hated knowing that I was raising money essentially to cover a postage bill. TECHNOLOGY... I hope you like paper. Ever had that frustration trying to explain to your grandma what Snapchat is? Or imagine if North Korea finally got access to the free world. That is what it feels like with this Council using Facebook, Email, etc.