Pros
Great line for the CV and for learning about how things were done in the 80s, so you can use that knowledge to come with better ways and with modern technology. Also great to develop network with large clients (banks, multinationals, state institutions), specially if you are in pre-sales and consulting. Handsomely-rewarded freelance opportunities later on will abound. The CEO-in-waiting Oliver seems quite bright technically-speaking and a decent, honest man. He also seems to intuitively understand that successful leaders are both born, made, and promoted to leadership by their underlings. There's great potential there, provided he can deal with the thick layer of clientelism and incompetence in middle-management. Dr. Goodnight was probably right picking Oliver, specially given the alternatives, although Oliver lacks the colossal gravitas, respect and natural authority that the founder has. Those are huge shoes for a relatively modest-sized man. Great to get free certifications and training which you can't get anywhere else. Note: those certifications invariably are multiple-choice exams with little connection to real-world scenarios and where the objective is for the clerk managing them to show everything is perfect and according to plan. A-students will usually pass with flying colors, self-made geniuses better just skip them altogether. Work/life balance is pretty good in those functions not dependent on production/sales --including consulting. You are encouraged to do your 40h and then simply go home. So if you don't care about letting the work pile up and deliver sub-standard service, this is your place mate. Check the box here and sign here. Canteen food is generally reasonably good but not spectacular, although some colleagues in other offices would disagree --Ireland one of them. You won't go hungry, but you won't be terribly excited either.
Cons
Forget the mantra about "best place to work", unless you started in the 80s or 90s --those were the good days. Right now it is average and diving off a cliff (notice the trend here on Glassdoor since 2016), even as competitors are getting so much better at making talent want to work with them. Massive changes ahead, of the kind that make or break companies. SAS is a goliath used to having a monopoly on the market and that all of a sudden has to play in a fiercely competitive market with much bigger and seasoned players (Microsoft, SAP, IBM, Oracle) and promising startups left and right munching their way through. So far still living off the inertia and conservatism of its biggest accounts --banks, public institutions and large corporations. This is a company for apparatchiks. If you happen to be creative, bright and enjoy debating into finding the best solutions for the customer, expect to be harassed into quitting --but hey, rest assured, in SAS they don't fire people, as the mantra goes. Should you dare to go the extra mile, consider staying there as well --chances are you will get hanged for over-delivering and foolishly risking making the slightest mistake. At all levels, arbitrary process takes precedence over knowing your customer and adapting to their needs. Just check the box. Technical opportunities are only to be had at HQ in NC: everywhere else are pretty much sales-centered outposts, with a sales-centric approach. Don't expect to hear much from above, if at all. Just sell whatever, check the boxes, then pass the buck. 9-to-5 approach and warming your office chair remains the go-to performance KPI. Still more important than checking all the boxes right. Unless you are a manager and were hired in the before 2000: then you only have to occasionally show up to your boss; for the rest (including customers), the occasional email will do. The party pretty much ended for those hired after 2000-2001: the ones before have all the perks, advantages, connections and priority, the ones hired up to 2010 hope to get there eventually (good luck at that), the ones hired after 2010 are cannon fodder. Status is entirely based on seniority and loyal servitude to seniors, not competence and certainly not customer-centered creativity. The best and brightest leave for better pastures pretty quickly (2-3 years max); the ones at the bottom won't get fired unless they repeatedly and spectacularly mess up (which means they usually get to stay and pull down everybody else); the ones in the middle (the vast majority) cruises along with the flow, stay quiet, check the right boxes and then go home. Rinse and repeat. Expect to find insecure managers prone to power trips, provided you can find them at all. Most offices are located in grand estates in the middle of nowhere, probably perfect for boomers living in suburbia and looking ahead to peaceful retirement. Millennials/GenZers keen on remote-working, city-dwelling or without car better just stay clear.
