50-, 60-, 80-hour weeks, weekend work, getting beaten up on deployments/upgrades depending on customer. Our organization for 4 years straight kept the rest of the company afloat and profitable while the rest of the company lost money, yet we didn't get raises or bonuses for years and were STILL expected to put in 50-, 60-, 80-hour weeks month in/month out and year in/year out. NO and I mean ABSOLUTELY NO celebration of victories or acknowledgement of what our group (PMO and Technical Operations) did to bring in the revenue that made the company profitable year after year after Itron bought Silver Spring Networks. MAYBE, at the most, a half-hearted "thank you" during a year-end town hall. No holiday celebrations. No team-building lunches or dinners, let alone days at a park, beach, train ride, etc. NO DOWNTIME from working from 4:30 in the morning until 11 PM at night on deployments. Only: What is the next upgrade or installation you're going to be doing?
Granted, in our Program Management team the managers did acknowledge the good work done, but bonuses? Raises? Recognition for the good work done outside of team meetings? NOTHING!
It took me months to decompress from the pressure cooker after I left. PTSD big time.
AND, if you make a lot of money in your position, be prepared to be laid off and Eastern European Pgm Mgrs hired in your place. It's ALL about $$$ at Itron. People? Pfffftttt! Their thought is they can always hire someone for less money elsewhere. And, that is no matter how good you are or how much you contribute. I cannot, in good conscience, recommend working at Itron unless you're young and energetic, and want to gain Change Management experience.
And VERY LITTLE chance for advancement. I tried for years to move over into other groups to no avail. Apparently, being a top performer in your group with proven ability to think and work tactically and strategically is of little use to other PMOs and organizations in Itron.
