Highly departmentalized. Some departments have a strict business dress code, while people in the same building are wearing jeans and flip flops because they work in a different department. When you start be sure to negotiate a high salary. All pay raises will be based upon this salary. As an employee right out of college I accepted a $35,000 per year salary assuming that with hard work and dedication I would make more money. I was paid about $10,000 per year less than a co-worker who had the same job. I went almost 2 years without a raise and when I went to renegotiate a raise they gave me a $3,500 raise and was told that was the most they could give me because it was a 10% raise. So my salary went to $38,500. My co-worker who was hired in 6 months before me had renegotiated a raise before me and let me know that she had gotten $5,000. So she was making $50,000 per year and I was only making 38,500. All of the people in my department tried to change departments, but never got any calls. After talking with a friend in HR, we were told that there was a freeze on our department and that we were too valuable to be moved. Finally we all had to leave the company in order to get a raise. Many people right out of college were making $50,000 or more, so be sure to negotiate.
Required to work overtime including many weekends although most departments did not share this experience. Worked a minimum 50 hours per week for 35k per year. Not able to take the vacation days I accrued. My department's culture was one of working all hours and not taking vacation unless you were a mother.
