Pros
- Still somewhat prestigious in the St Louis market, because most people don't know any better - Above-average entry-level pay (if you can get on full-time, that is.) - In general - smart, fun, upwardly-mobile coworkers
Cons
- Doing the work of 2 $60k/year full-timers, as a $14/hour contractor (temp) with NO benefits - Watching other contractors get away with doing virtually nothing all day for that same $14/hr - 50+ hour work weeks - terrible work/life balance, which is actually worse for the full-timers due to the number of lazy and/or no-nothing contractors everywhere - Bleak prospects of getting on full-time, considering almost half of my department is already staffed with contractors. - Very little recognition for outstanding performance - Old Guard AB holdouts in middle mgmt are too busy covering their own ass and protecting/promoting buddies, to see the value in anyone new - Mixed messages from upper mgmt and conflicting goals across departments