Pros
It's difficult to sum up in its entirety the relatively-short stint working for the ARC. In all seriousness, the only pros I can think of are the following: 1. If you are looking for a career as a BMET, if you can endure the nonsense of working here, it *may* look good on your resume due to the fact that everyone believes the Red Cross is a morally upright and effective organization, although your lack of technical skills will be quite evident as the job duties (performing PMs, sometimes installations, etc) mostly consist of wiping down surfaces, or the occasional (extremely basic, light) mechanical maintenance. If you are like me and were coming in already with an electronics-based skillset, you're in better straits. 2. The benefits were OK. Not great, not terrible. They match more on the 401k than I thought a not-for-profit would, but still, definitely not much at all. 3. The other BMETs -- definitely not all of them, but certainly some -- were quite helpful and carried the spirit of teamwork.
Cons
1. NOBODY knows for sure what is going on. The managers seem to never talk with each other; the communication in this organization is such an absolute joke. Get ready to write the same email or have the same Teams call three times, a different person each, when coordinating a good time to schedule PMs. 2. This is an organization that will put a new hire into a department that was run for thirty years by a hoarder and expect success. Why was it the responsibility of 3 BMETs (one who had traveled from a different state) to spend two days cleaning up the place, throwing away 400+ lbs of paper junk, knick-knacks, broken parts for devices no longer supported, paper, paper, more paper, moldy boxes, old food, and so on, all from a workshop that is supposed to maintain and/or fix medical devices? 3. More travel than is advertised. 4. Not nearly as technical of a job as is advertised. If you're looking to acquire industry-specific skills and experience, you aren't getting it here. You just aren't. Some of the other BMETs are a bit more hands on but they're vastly outnumbered. 5. There's a general attitude of this company being a place where less-than-motivated individuals seem to park themselves and never leave. If you're looking to be surrounded by motivated, aspiring individuals, don't apply here. 6. Because of the above two points, you will become mind-numbingly bored working here. I have never been more bored in my entire life. 7.. Some of the older buildings feel like you're working in a prison. Working in a basement with no windows isn't the best.