Pros
You build a strong bond with your fellow co-workers and management, as well as those you work with. They all seem to care how you are doing at work and in life. It is a great job that rewards those that have an "invested interest" in it, aka building a career.
Your expectations are clearly laid out , such as become competent in what you are doing, be a team player, have a positive attitude, pay your dues, and complete a promotional checklist. Management rewards those with periodic pay raises based on satisfactory job performance based on the above job expectations.
They occasionally let you travel to other labs to work when they are in a bind or new. It is a great way to see other labs and see how they implement different processes, so you can carry them back to your lab. Other people from different labs are nice.
There is a lot of cross training that makes me feel like I'm not stuck in a rut. I help in media, work in Path Lab and Main lab.... sometimes all in the same week. All of my training is used to the fullest and not wasted or forgotten about, like if I stayed in one department for too long.
There seems to be a lot of advancement opportunities throughout out the company, which is constantly growing. The only thing that I have seen people getting held back is their lack of cooperation with Management, not willing to work a certain shift, do a certain task because "it is not a part of their job", or lack of competency.
Our BDM, lab manager, or corporate or whoever it is, does a great job of getting new clients. It makes me sleep easier at night knowing not all of our business is dependent on one client. Our work is scheduled, so there isn't too many surprise pick-ups or new testing, which is great for all departments and creates a less stressful environment by not having a huge flux of samples. Days and nights can be predictable and steady with known expectations for TATs.
I feel like my Lab Manager has my back and won't feed me to the wolves, like I've heard about from another lab's Lab Manager. There is a strong bond between all departments and are willing to pitch in if there is a department that is behind. It is good to know that some from Management have risen through the ranks and been promoted, so they know what it is like to be where I am at.
Cons
Starting pay isn't that great, but gets better as you progress in your tenure with the company. They haven't developed technology to clone our Lab Manager. I'm unsure if corporate really knows what it is like to work in the lab, because hardly any of them came from the bottom up, but thank goodness the owners know.
