Pros
SAS is an odd one. I've gone back and forth on how I should write this review, simply because your happiness and success really does depend on the team and the product you are working on. I work with a smaller group and the entire team is completely tight knit, looks out for one another, and makes coming to work a pleasure. I find the pay fair for the industry, the work challenging, a great sense of autonomy in what I work on, and my coworkers smart, eager to help, and passionate about what they do. I've also heard the horror stories from other teams. I guess that's the same as anywhere, though. Sometimes you just get lucky and land on a good project. I count myself lucky, and happy to be here at SAS. Some Pros: - Good work/life balance. People work a good solid 9-5 (or 8-4) and although several people login over the weekend to do work, it is not mandated and I've never felt like it was required. If I ever work the weekend it is because I want to catch up on something I've fallen behind on. - Total compensation package is nice. Insurance has been getting a little weaker with each year, but compare that to what my friends get at other companies and SAS is still ahead of the curve. Bonuses are small, but a nice thank you when they come around, and travel to events and conferences is encouraged as long as their is some budget for them. - Flexible work when needed. If I need to work remote, that's supported, and having that option for the days you simply need to handle stuff at home, or with the little ones, is worth a lot to me. - I never feel like someone is watching over my shoulder, but frequently feel like my team has my back. It's a good feeling.
Cons
The biggest con for me at SAS is since this entire company is pretty flatly structured, and there are so many lifers at SAS (and I don't blame them, I hope to be one) that promotions and career advancement can be slow or non-existent. Now, that's not to say that you won't be developing your career. I feel the autonomy my manager allows gives me quite a bit of freedom on how and what I am working on, and basically makes me a little manager of one. I am tasked to solve problems in the way I see fit, and if they don't hold up, they'll be scrutinized, critiqued by my teammates, and I make improvements. That being said, those that crave direction and a solid career path may get frustrated here. - The company isn't super high-tech when it comes to using the latest and greatest technology, but certain teams do have some pull if they want to use more industry standard software or trends. We still develop on a Waterfall development model, have a good amount of automation, but everything feels stuck somewhere in the early 2010s. Definitely not bleeding edge development tools being used at SAS, but not stuck in the past either. It's somewhere in the middle. Since that sort of falls on my purview, and since I am encouraged to innovate, I feel that is something I can directly improve, however... and I'm working on doing just that.