Pros
Great opportunity to see the real world application of microeconomic theory - see profit and loss and what effects it and how you can make it better. Great job stability - unless you violate one of their ethical guidelines, you effectively can't be fired as a store manager. Pay is very competitive and benefits package is excellent.
Cons
Long hours - 50 hours minimum, 60 hours typical, 80 hours occasionally when things go wrong and/or you don't have employees. Blue collar work despite white collar job description - you WILL check and stock shelves fully 50 percent of your time, and it could be higher than that depending on your staffing situations. 'Backstage' not supportive nor focused on stores, 'help' not available and not helpful - everyone backstage is too busy telecommuting on Fridays to show up at the store, even in the middle of the week, and when they DO show up, they are more focused on documenting your failures than on helping you train and develop your team. Management focused on the wrong things - profits for shareholders instead of better experiences for the customer or higher pay for employees, and it shows when you walk through the front door. We just can't compete with other chains because we don't have the flexibility, nor the 'backstage' support.
