Pros
The birds here are part of an excellent program and have top notch vet care. Everyone truly cares for them and it shows. The guests are fun and the volunteers are the best people ever. Coworkers are friendly and always willing to help. A gorgeous place to work.
Cons
Too many to list. I have an eight page essay on the cons (literally). Pay is garbage and you’re expected to do easily 2-3x the amount of work that your job actually entails. No one talks to each other in any of the departments - it’s EXTREMELY clique-y and feels like high school. Employees are ignored and so are the guests by most staff! Suggestions were basically thrown in the trash. And secrets are everywhere. I had a manager “move on to other prospects” out of the blue one day and I wasn’t told until the end of that same day. Then I didn’t have a manager for weeks! And I was told not to tell anyone she had left... as if no one would notice? Turnover is EXTREMELY high which is always a red flag. You’ll find the average staff member has either been there for 10+ Years or only 1-2 years and there is a reason why. They also treat the whole volunteer force like unpaid employees and expect them to do paid employee work... for free. Sick days and vacation days are the same. There is no differentiating between them. Overall I thought this was my dream job going into the Aviary. It was what I always wanted to do. It was so terrible I still have nightmares about it and I’ve even changed medication dosages because of the physical and mental strain it put on me. Now I am completely disillusioned about the whole field and can’t see myself following this career path anymore. Oh, when the virus hit, they also completely dissolved multiple positions immediately. And then held other employees on “furlough” for months before eventually just letting them go. They nuked the whole visitor experience/education team!