Great pay and benefits, but challenging call center workload, WORK SOMEWHERE ELSE.
Pros
I spent enough time with FirstEnergy to have a good perspective on what it does well. The compensation was honestly one of the biggest reasons I stayed as long as I did. For my role, I never found another company that could match the pay. Every time I looked around, the offers were noticeably lower, so the salary was definitely one of the company's strongest advantages. The benefits were excellent across the board. Between the pension, strong 401(k) match, tuition reimbursement, and healthcare, it was one of the better benefits packages I've had, but the health coverage was absolutely top notch. If you stay with the company for a while, the PTO becomes another major perk. It accumulates over the years, and eventually you end up with a generous amount of time off. You can even purchase PTO!!!! What I'll probably remember most, though, are the people. I worked with some incredibly knowledgeable coworkers who were always willing to collaborate and help answer questions, share what they knew, and help newer employees get up to speed. There wasn't much of an ego culture, which made it a much easier place to learn and grow than a lot of companies I've worked for.
Cons
If you're considering a position in the call center, go in with your eyes open. The turnover was constant while I was there, and it never really felt like staffing levels recovered. When people left, everyone else was expected to absorb the extra work. For hourly employees, that often meant mandatory overtime. For salaried employees, it usually meant longer days, answering calls after hours, and being available whenever something came up. It wasn't unusual to have your plans change because you were expected to stay late or respond after your shift had already ended. Over time, that kind of schedule wears people down. I watched good employees burn out and leave, which only made the staffing problem worse. It became a cycle that never seemed to get better. Another thing that was frustrating was performance evaluations. During my last review cycle, I felt the expectations had shifted, and employees who had consistently received strong evaluations in prior years were rated lower. That translated into smaller merit increases, which was especially discouraging given the workload. Around the same period, the company also went through significant layoffs, which made morale even worse. By the time I left, I didn't feel like employees' concerns were being taken seriously, and I rarely felt valued for the amount of time and effort the job demanded. My advice would be simple: if you're looking at a role in the call center, think carefully before accepting it. The pay and benefits are excellent, but for me, they weren't enough to make up for the workload, the unpredictable hours, and the lack of work-life balance.
