Great company with middling compensation and IC tracks
Pros
Progressive is a great and welcoming company. The pay is good -enough- to make a good -enough- living. You can tackle real and interesting problems and build a strong resume. Progressive is the best-positioned major insurer. It is easy to progress to a Lead level for Analyst and Developer tracks. If you are dedicated, you can easily rack up $10M-$100M impact.
Cons
Annual raises are aggressively mediocre. And in recent years, have not kept up with inflation (that means your raise is effectively negative). Inflation is still running hot, so expect your inflation-adjusted "raise" to be flat or negative. It is very difficult for an individual contributor (IC) to achieve a Level 46 salary band. That means even if you are a high achiever with a track record of huge impact, you will stagnate at a Level 44 or 45 until you achieve enough Corporate Good Boy Points. You can stick around for a decade of mediocre raises to eventually receive another mediocre raise with your overdue promotion, or you can just leave Progressive for richer pastures. In general, Progressive strikes me as penny-wise but pound-foolish. I witnessed so much attrition of strong talent due to career and salary stagnation. If Progressive would pony up the cash to keep these people, they could have stuck around to solve $50M problems. Indeed, around the time I left Progressive my business unit was scrambling to solve an 8-figure problem that should have been solved years ago. But of course, when we asked for additional headcount for 2023 we were denied and told to "do more with less". That's a cute sentiment, but the company should strive to do more with more. Solve one $10M problem, and use that money to hire a competent team who will solve five more $10M problems. On another note, Progressive's bonus scheme is often disappointing. It is "gainshare" as a function of company growth and profitability. Both factors were challenging at different times over the past 3 years, and bonuses suffered as a result. But this is ridiculous, because the company has performed exceptionally well against competitors. The stock has consistently risen due to this high performance, but the specific math of the bonus means "get bent, wagie". The CFO commented on this effectively stating "deal with it" and "it doesnt matter for attrition"--but it -does- matter for attrition. High performers are watching their total compensation, and when their bonus is trashed and unstable, they are more likely to look elsewhere. The ultimate implication of all this, is that lots of Progressive's talent are either not that skilled, or are lazy. If they were skilled or driven, they would leave for richer pastures. So if YOU are skilled and driven you can quickly rise, then bounce when the time is right.