Spent the first 10 years of my career here. Had no idea how toxic it is.
Pros
Diversity of work opportunities. Passionate, driven colleagues. Some of the projects are mission-driven.
Cons
Toxic culture in many teams. You are pitted against your colleagues for project opportunities and promotions, which hinders sincere collaboration. Work/life balance is abysmal. Because this was my first job out of school, I had no idea how awful it was working here. I have since had 2 other employers and the opportunity to work with managers who are actually decent people and view their employees as humans - not just cogs to drive as much profit as possible. I worked under a few dozen different managers (either reporting to or working under for particular projects) during my tenure at ICF and I wouldn’t want to return to work with any of them. In contrast, I have been happy with all of my leadership since I left. Working at ICF is fine as a first job, especially if you’re not already specialized in how you want to shape your career. But learn from my mistake - don’t stay and let it suck the life out of you. You will almost certainly be valued and have better growth opportunities elsewhere.
