While entry salary is pretty good (again, only compared to Wichita, where cost of living is quite low,) it can be incredibly difficult to get bonuses/raises/reviews. I went over two years without even receiving a review, let alone a raise. My raises the first five years didn't even keep up with the rise in cost of goods and inflation. I have heard multiple people say the only way to get a good raise is to change jobs / companies. There are a variety of different business units / companies under the Koch umbrella, but different companies mean different rules and some are much worse than others. There seem to be a LOT of terrible managers/supervisors and a Lot of senior leaders who don't fit the "Koch culture." It's like once you reach a certain point, they'll move you into management whether you're good at it and whether you want it or not. We also like to pull very high priced leaders from outside the company, just because they are high priced (so they must be good) and regardless of whether or not they are a good fit or a good leader. They make terrible decisions, and we are losing good employees. Despite the fact the company harps on Change, everything here moves So slowly. The medical benefits are weak and have gotten worse every year I've been here. Both premiums and deductibles are very high. I actually stopped going to my regular doctor and stopped taking my meds because the cost went up so much. Instead, I pay for a concierge doctor in addition to my "catastrophe insurance" that is offered by Koch. In addition to high premiums and deductibles, we are now being penalized by hundreds of dollars (up to $50/month) if we don't complete health training programs during the year. Other companies allow you to save money by participating in wellness programs, but Koch instead punishes you if you don't. The employee "discount" program is a joke, run by a national company that rarely offers any deal better than what you can find just by googling a product. And although they offer $5k in tuition reimbursement each year, they have fought me every time I have submitted a reimbursement request. They typically deny at least one class, sometimes multiple, and always over a disagreement over the language in the policy. It's a huge hassle; I'm sure most people just give up. Starting vacation is typically two weeks, regardless of your experience / tenure at other jobs. You can be forty years old coming in with twenty years experience and be offered two weeks vacation. The campus is old-fashioned. You are here to work, work, work, not take breaks (which encourage creativity) or talk with coworkers (which encourages innovation.) Schedules are old-fasioned and inflexible (7AM - 5PM, Mon - Fri, no working remote, even if you are issued a laptop and have collaboration software installed day one.
