Pros
- The company is great with benefits. 401k, PTO, VPTO (Volunteering paid time off), HSA, and medical insurance. This is a good company if you are looking for opportunities into a stable career in the utility industry. - Everyone in Minnesota knows Xcel Energy. You will be seen as a respected worker in the community. - If you are in corporate, you will work downtown in Minneapolis which is cool. - Interns get benefits and decent pay and pay goes up each year of college (There are high school intern programs too) as a senior in college, on average, the pay is 17.90 an hour. - Work from home during pandemic for corporate employees.
Cons
- Projects in corporate can move slow and sometimes you can't do anything about it. You could be waiting on others to give you the information that you need to move forward. -Union employees deserve a little more respect from employees in corporate. They are the ones in the field literally running plants and in the community. - Your manager will determine your mindset while you work. This meaning a manager allowing a growth mindset or you could have a manager who uses more cold approaches to getting their employees to get their projects completed. - Corporate politics-- can't avoid them. But when you first start, make sure you get the training you need early on. Make sure you know all of the best practices, processes for your job position and ask questions early on. If you try to do this later on, they will question your competence. - Working from home is draining. (TAKE PTO DON"T HOARD YOUR TIME AND JUST BE MISERABLE IF YOU ARE FEELING BURNOUT)