Life is short. Work somewhere awesome like PGW!!
Pros
I've been with the Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) for almost 15 years. It was my first job right after college. Here are my top 10 reasons for choosing and staying with this great Philadelphia-based 185 year old Institution: 1)- Job stability and security (no layoffs). 2)- Great close-knit work environment and even-tempered culture - it really does feel like a family at PGW. 3)- Very decent and competitive salaries; as well as great unparalleled and generous benefits, especially the Medical, Retirement and Education packages. 4)- In addition to the main benefit packages, PGW also has excellent fringe benefits and robust list of extracurricular activities and offerings. 5)- Diverse workforce, both vertically and horizontally. 6)- When you work at PGW you don't just get a "job" but rather a life-long career (if you so choose to). 7)- There is always ample room to grow and develop your career at PGW, especially if you enjoy what you do and work hard at it. 8)- PGW is a municipally-owned Gas Utility that does not exist to generate corporate profits, but for the purpose of serving its Philadelphia community by providing safe, reliable, clean and affordable energy. 9)- PGW's great Corporate Citizenship and positive relationship with the community through its charitable work as well as its various Affinity groups. 10)- PGW's visionary leadership over the past 10+ years.
Cons
The main downside in my experience is the inflexibility and shortsightedness of some of the Union leadership at the company who have ferociously resisted and ultimately prevented a number of common sense changes over the years, which could have benefited both Union and Management!! Also, since PGW is owned by the City of Philadelphia it does has a strict domicile policy where employees have to reside within the City boundaries. This particular policy has not been an issue to me personally, but it does cause some very good and talented employees to leave the company so that they can move to the surrounding suburbs. It also makes recruiting good qualified candidacies a little harder.