Pros
Coming from a another contractor over to MTSI, the culture is remarkably different here, and a better match. The hierarchy is understandable, they have recently stood up a mentorship program, and while salary is somewhere between average and competitive.. the total compensation package, inclusive of benefits, is among the best around DC. Cost plus contracts have more room for salary growth. I do not feel like I work for a "body shop" here that is just filling seats. This is a place for high-end engineering services and excellent people to learn from. Further, MTSI supports many important missions. I have mixed feelings on the Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP). You get about 6% of your salary put into MTSI stock. The kicker is that it is into your retirement/401K account and takes several years to vest. It is awesome to gain equity. But frustrating that it is locked away.. particularly for young home buyers. Putting this comment into pros because I still think it is a net win!
Cons
Just three come to mind: 1) MTSI is just about to break through the small business threshold. It's an exciting time to join (if we rapidly succeed) with the leap, but also a risky time as we will now be competing directly against big companies like BAH, SAIC, etc for contracts 2) Still trying to work out the the kinks on career development for employees in the first 10 years of their careers. Things like the mentorship program, annual goals, promotion plans, etc exist, but they're relatively new. Results are inconsistently delivered/considered by older leaders who have been around for years prior to their implementation 3) There's not any obvious checkpoints for salary bumps. Other companies have somewhat meaningless title changes in the first few years of your career that are basically just opportunities to reconsider your salary with your manager. MTSI titles are primarily just considered against contract labor categories ("LCAT") in my experience. Therefore there are much longer gaps between "promotions" and the associated pay bumps relative others. If you look past titles and are proactive in conversations with your PM regarding development and salary.. this can be easily overcome.