Pros
I found the experience that I was looking for: being a security consultant. I came looking to learn more about the business, develop the skills to understand clients’ needs, and do interesting work. Boy, did I find it! Security is hard, don't listen to anyone that exclaims the opposite (That it is easy). While the concepts are simple enough that a child could understand them, in practice, they present a complex set of issues that take dedicated coordination and planning to execute or 'get right'. This is especially true for the behemoth organizations, whose set of products, teams, and operations are diverse enough that they often overlap in zero-sum ways. InfusionPoints stands with some of the most well-known titans of this industry to guide them to doing what they do best, securely. This is a perfect opportunity for people looking to grow with InfusionPoints. We do important work. In my time, I’ve had the opportunity, on multiple occasions, to peer into clients' secretive new prototypes, launch coordinated assaults against clients’ infrastructure, design, build, and deploy innovative solutions, and team up with expert coworkers to help clients drive their products and systems to compliance and ultimately accreditation. Sure, there are a lot of other organizations that do things differently, but it’s all about perspective. I could say that I read some source code, wrote some source code, performed a penetration test or two, and did some consulting work, but that would be dishonest. The expertise we share with our clients is much more meaningful, impactful, and rewarding. The work we do is inherently difficult and time consuming. Developing the skills to solve all of the problems that customers throw at us requires dedication, getting outside of your comfort zone, and a good attitude to back it all up. I love having a new problem to solve almost daily. All of this hard work does not go unrewarded or without thanks. InfusionPoints graciously provides us with unlimited PTO. Life happens to us all. We all get sick, burned out, or just need time away. InfusionPoints gets this, and is supportive of employees taking that time to take care of ourselves and our families. I've used this when I felt like it was necessary, and have never once gotten push back or retaliation. InfusionPoints does care about their team members deeply. They were remote/wfh friendly long before COVID-19 was on anyone’s radar, and they’re making improvements for this all-the-time.
Cons
"I found the experience that I was looking for: being a security consultant. I came looking to learn more about the business, develop the skills to understand clients’ needs, and do interesting work. Boy, did I find it!" That sounds a little silly to repeat myself like that, but it is true. The biggest con from my perspective of this company is that the work can be difficult. This core value says it all: “Client Service - Clients drive our business.” This is how business works. We cater to the needs of the people that pay our salary. As a consultant, the cost of doing this is odd or long hours, needing to juggle meetings/appointments/family plans/etc. around to schedule time, sometimes working with people that are hard to get along with, but most of all, you have to actually listen to and understand the needs of your clients (This is all about perspective as well, but can be exhausting sometimes). All of these together can make for a lot of stress and worry. This is why unlimited PTO and being remote/wfh friendly has been so important to me. Working as a consultant has exposed me to a lot of challenges that have been stressful to me personally, and to my family. The nature of the work we do is inherently difficult. If it weren’t difficult, why would anyone bother paying us to do it? That said, success breeds success. All of the hard work that we do for clients has only risen the demand for our expertise. We might have started to grow a bit too quickly (is there really such a thing?), but I have noticed a significant increase in recent hiring efforts, expanding our teams and balancing out workloads. This job has been a large growth point for myself (requires effort on my part daily), but it is, in retrospect, exactly what I'd sought out.
