Pros
-The Dennis Group (DGL) is a small organization doing big business. In my opinion, this is the best of both worlds. You reap the benefits of working for a smaller organization – your hard work gets recognized, you develop lasting relationships with your co-workers, and you have many opportunities to help grow and impact the company. By Dennis Group doing big business, you’ll also get exposure to many large, international organizations. The tools, experience, and connections you’ll make are invaluable. Many of Dennis Group’s customers are Fortune 100 companies. -You’re a name not a number. Unlike large corporate environments, my peers in the Atlanta office (and teams I worked with onsite) felt more like family than co-workers! When times got tough, personally or professionally, we had each other’s back - we fought for and supported each other like family. -Minimal hierarchy and corporate politics. I never had to worry about who I was talking to in our organization and if that was going to upset my or someone else’s boss! This sounds like a little thing, but the freedom to discuss and explore ideas with a wide variety of engineers, project managers, or partners within the organization is a very helpful asset when you’re working through tough problems or developing new ideas/designs. -Take on as much as you want. The self-driven, “go-getter” type will thrive at DGL. You will never be held back if you want to take on more. The customer projects are always new and challenging, and on top of that, there are always opportunities to get involved in helping the organization and office grow (help with recruiting, develop trainings, build internal and external design tools). -Variety. Everyday will be different – new tasks, new challenges. In the office, you might be working on designs or reviewing cost, scope and schedules with the customer. The next day might be spent developing a sales presentation for a new client. You could also be developing new college recruiting materials to prep for a career fair. When you get outside the office, you could be onsite at the customer’s headquarters with your project team presenting a final design report or bidding on a job. You could be onsite getting your “hands dirty” working with construction managers and contractors on a DGL construction site. In the fall or spring, you might be at a college campus helping with recruiting at a job fair. Compensation. Your salary is fair. Your end of year bonus can be very generous – especially for the go-getter types listed above. Work hard, it will get recognized.
Cons
The nature of engineering/consulting is that there is a fair amount of travel. As a project engineer, I traveled approx. 50-60% time. The travel can sometimes be very short notice depending on the customer or project. Fortunately, this travel burden (the time spent away from home, family, and friends) is quantified and recognized by management. (Also generally recognized in your bonus!)