MITRE used to be special; not anymore
Pros
The work can be very rewarding in terms of contributing to our sponsor's biggest problems. From National Defense, to the FAA, to the VA, to Homeland Defense, to the Medical enhancements, etc., it is hard to beat that aspect.
Cons
We never had a CEO before the current one. There was always a MITRE President, and it felt special to work for MITRE. We took pride in our not-for-profit nature and the fact we could be a trusted advisor to the Govt. Over time, pride in being an FFRDC and having a special culture still exists, but it has been greatly eroded. Benefits have been whittled away to make us more competitive, while not competing has always been part of that not-for-profit and Govt partner culture. Holidays were dropped by two, adding one floater. But in the process, Veterans Day and MLK Day have been removed, alienating some veterans and African-Americans. MITRE has always prided itself in being forward-leaning. In the early days of COVID-19, MITRE led an example for the nation sending workers home to work at home full-time, except for a few that were needed to work at MITRE in classified environments. Just last week, the CEO put forth an edict that remote work now means you need to be present in the office 50% of the time. After years of remote work that was sensible in that you only needed to be there when there was a good cause, you now may find yourself driving in to attend a full day of remote meetings in a lousy non-private space with barely any resources, such as a quiet working environment, dual monitors, reliable Internet access, or available meeting rooms.