Pros
-Although I was only a basic, administrative intern dealing with filing, faxing, printing, etc, the very nice, kind of hippy-ish people made it a great place to work with; I really liked interacting with them, and they very much went out of their way to make me feel welcome all the time. Then again, it is Portland, Oregon, and that's just the way it is. -As I said, I only did menial work, as expected as a first-time intern, but every time I finished a job the employees went out of their way to thank and congratulate me to the point where I was blushing; again, they are very, very nice. I can see an East-Coaster being a little uncomfortable with this kind of culture, though, because I've also worked in NYC as well and currently live in Jersey. I've heard people, especially people from NYC, freak out about Portlanders. Get used to it. -I spent a lot of time observing the culture within the department. The head of the department was very respectful towards the workers and always took their input into account, while also being firm when needed. There was minimal corporate drama, although I could plainly see two people really did not get along. But what's that in a group of great people? -They spend a LOT of time having group conferences and giving/ getting feedback and thinking about ways to innovate, do a better job, do better for clients. For some people this might be a little too much but I liked the fact they believed in their work. -Portland. Great place. I went out and took pictures during my lunch break, some of the best pictures I've taken. Lovely downtown. Nightlife too if you want, though not too much of it.
Cons
-I was bored much of the time. Then again this is not their fault; I did not have a lot of experience, and the department had very specific jobs that I probably was not suited to handle without a lot of training on their part. -The head of the department moved to a new location. Since I constantly kept hearing from the people of the department how the department was so much better, friendlier and a great place to work due to the change in management, I suspect that it may have become less of the place I knew. However I have no knowledge in this matter, just putting it out there; the manager was integral to the department. -I can't speak badly about this location, this department, but frankly I did hear some gossip about unsatisfied employees in other departments due to bad management, etc. Also, I think a LOT of the US knows how KP messed up in California, mainly due to Michael Moore's "Sicko." I think they cleaned up their act some but it did nag my conscience sometimes, it's kind of embarrassing sometimes really, even though I know the OR system is so much kinder and better.