Pros
If you want to work long hours doing repetitive tasks in a rigid, cliquish environment where questioning anything is punished, you’ll fit right in. Otherwise, there are no real pros.
Cons
Most management has never worked anywhere else, which shows in their lack of industry best practices and leadership ability. It’s an echo chamber of dysfunction, with outdated practices passed down as the only way of doing things. The company thrives on hiring inexperienced people—often straight out of college—so they can be molded into robotic “yes-people” rather than independent thinkers. Anyone who questions the status quo is quickly pushed out, harassed, or retaliated against. Success at this company is based on sucking up and maintaining “friendships,” not on quality of work, intelligence, or drive. Hardworking, capable people are ignored or driven out, while unskilled but well-connected employees are rewarded. The culture runs on ego and clout. Image and internal politics matter far more than actual results or employee well-being. Incredibly cliquish environment. If you’re not in the “in crowd,” expect bullying, mistreatment, and being sidelined. Rampant sexism and subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) racism shape the culture. Leadership does nothing to address it—in fact, they often perpetuate it. Project Engineers and Project Managers are not what those titles suggest. In reality, they are estimators. None of the project managers I interacted with had the skills or knowledge to actually run a project. This is a “butts-in-seats” company that values long hours of face time over real productivity. Employees who stay 12 hours socializing are praised, while those who work efficiently and leave after 8 hours are looked down on. HR is utterly incompetent—either unwilling or unable to protect employees or even shield the company from legal liability. Their failure to act on serious mistreatment is astounding, and likely to backfire on the company in a major way. Even clients see the dysfunction. It’s obvious to anyone outside the company, which is why so many client relationships are strained or unhappy.