Pros
The county is overall a good and enjoyable place to work; my rating reflects what it's like working in IT. One positive note is there have been some strides in user education around security.
Cons
So where to begin... the IT department is plagued by innumerable issues that are mostly self-inflicted. Number one with a bullet is management, a team which has undergone a complete changeout over the last few years. One of the last competent managers, who was a calm voice of reason, retired early out of frustration with the new leadership. There's been a tonal shift in department culture. Morale is low and the department's panicky management style encourages finger pointing and contention among the staff. There are unclear standards around change management, and how to work with other teams within the department that never get addressed. Everyone is on edge, and there’s repeat offenders who will belittle and disparage other staff in meetings. They actually had a doctor, a business psychologist, come in a couple years ago to interview the staff in small groups. Feedback from the staff was almost unanimous, but it seemed like the doctor’s report and suggestions were thrown out since it was critical of the director and deputy director. The department is stuck in gridlock. There are a lot of half-baked processes, and then new processes and new committees to figure out why the processes aren’t working. Have a question? Your direct manager will either be unavailable or won’t know how to help you because they’re unsure of the direction the director wants them to take, or they’ll point you to another manager who’s just as unconfident. County staff have become unhappy with IT, and aren’t shy about sharing that with you when you work with them. I can’t blame them because it’s hard to get help or work just isn’t being done. There’s a process for what projects you’re supposed to work on, but management will quickly shoehorn a different #1 priority project/issue onto your plate, usually weekly, or anytime there’s a fire caused by their poor planning or some highly visible problem that makes the department look bad. Your head will be spinning trying to track your time in tickets, a time log, your outlook calendar, and your time card (while making sure it’s properly coded to the right work order).