Pros
The VRS Investments Department is a professional investment shop that manages over $72 billion, and has done so very successfully for decades. The team is highly skilled and deeply experienced. Nearly every team member holds a CFA charter, a masters degree, and/or a PhD (4 on staff as of today). The culture is very collegial and team-oriented. There are ample growth opportunities in either the external "manager-of-managers" groups or to manage equity or fixed income assets hands-on with either of the two in-house portfolio management teams. The turnover is extremely low, with many having worked here together for 15+ years, which should tell you something about the work environment and employee satisfaction. The pay is very competitive, including annual incentive comp, and the benefits are excellent. The work-life balance is much better than what I hear from my peers in the industry. Richmond is simply a fantastic city to work and raise a family in.
Cons
The other reviews I've read here are mostly from the Administrative side of the Agency, with the exception of one Investments intern who clearly was unhappy. We try to help build careers through our internship program (which, by the way, is extremely competitive), but it is sometimes difficult to create enough work to satisfy everyone given that we have a small, highly focused staff. I can't speak to every aspect of the other non-Investments departments at VRS, but I know everyone at VRS is talented and works very hard. The culture overall is very positive. It is certainly about much more than pretty posters hanging everywhere (as a previous reviewer posted). I really think the negative reviews posted here are unfounded and, largely, ridiculous.