Pros
Very secure. Genuine and nice people. Supportive and understanding of family obligations. People are caring and they have a lot of parties to celebrate important events in people's lives. There are a lot of close friendships between staff. It is a very egalitarian and collegial environment. For some employees it can be a very flexible place to work. The interagency agreement is a wonderful mechanism for contracting and allows us to do a lot of interesting work and work with some of the most interesting and pressing issues that are going on. I like the diversity of the work opportunities.
Cons
Compensation compared to similar type jobs with other consulting companies and the Fed is low, but for the local economy it is pretty good. Performance is not rewarded adequately. There is a lack of fairness as to who and what gets rewarded. Overhead funding for program staff is limited therefore training and professional development opportunities are limited. Senior management are mostly all over the age of 50 and they are reluctant to groom and bring in new people to the upper management structure. The culture tends to disdain ambitious and high-energy staff members. It takes a long time to learn and navigate the ins and outs of working there.