Pros
- You get exposed to the ins and outs of an IT project from the get go. Pro if you are self-directed. - Good 401k match although vesting period is long. Full match after 5 years with 20% increase per year. - Co-workers are usually from good educational backgrounds and are generally hardworking and dedicated. - This place can be a good stepping stone for better places. Staying here long-term makes no sense and you will be stuck in a dead-end job.
Cons
Note: Be careful about reviews here. PCI cares quite a bit about its image and I would question the validity of some of these reviews. I also read some pretty insightful reviews in the past but I can no longer find them. - Uncompetitive pay although they will say otherwise. Analyst and Associate pay is a joke considering people's backgrounds (See salary for evidence). Analyst do NOT get paid billable hours bonus despite being guilt tripped into putting in major overtime/weekends and doing the exact same work as Associates or higher. When you first join, they will try to low ball you in terms of your base salary. Don't get pressured into giving an answer right away. - 50+ hrs/week is expected. Hours rather than productivity are the most important measure of your worth and it is meticulously tracked after each work day. This is done through multiple means such as time sheets which you have to write daily. - Very hierarchical. Analyst I -> II -> III -> IV -> Associate I -> II -> III -> Senior Associate I -> II -> Consultant I -> II -> etc... Get the idea? Promotional structure is absolutely meaningless and discouraging. There are performance reviews every 6 months and although raises are given quite often, these raises are actually minuscule and meant to give an illusion of progress. If you start off at the bottom level, you are essentially wasting your time and should probably think of an escape plan. - Experience is very project dependent and if you get stuck on a bad project then too bad. You don't really have a choice and this leads to high turnover. There are quite a few bad/boring projects in the firm. - Management is clueless on how to give people incentive and lack foresight. Guilt tripping is used to solve any type of issue rather than actually caring about employees needs or thinking intelligently about the project's direction. - Many projects are stuck using old or obscure technologies and the skills are NOT transferrable. - Company motto is "optimization" despite optimization NOT actually being used in most projects. Some of the main optimization experts have already left and have taken their expertise with them. - No flex hours and work from home is discouraged. Facetime is key. Management is paranoid and do not trust their employees. - Full formal dress code.