Pros
- Compensation and benefits: Fast's starting salary is hard to beat for new grads unless you're working for Big N companies (Amazon, Google, Facebook, etc.). Yearly salary adjustments keep your compensation high and I've known people who get 8%+ every year along with bonuses. Overtime is paid which is extremely uncommon in tech. - Fulfilling work - You are given a large amount of responsibility to implement solutions for our clients. Sometimes you are the only person on your team tackling a large business need for the client, such as implementing an entire tax return in the system that is filed by millions of individuals or businesses yearly. Since we work onsite with our clients, you get see your work actually being used. - Engaged leadership - The partners aren't sitting back and cashing in. They are involved daily making sure the product is evolving in their vision and that client projects are coming along successfully. - Relocation - This opinion varies for everyone but being able to relocate means you can retain your skills while working in a different place with a different team and client. If you don't like your placement for some reason, you know it's not permanent. - Product - Fast has never implemented a solution that has failed or been replaced. Fast is a leader in its niches for a reason. You know what you work on will go into production within a year or two whereas other companies will fail to deliver over a period of five or ten years.
Cons
- Lacking professional development - Fast doesn't provide funds for outside education, such as online courses or graduate degrees. Fast teaches you what you need to do the job but little else. - Lacking industry tools - Other than the IDEs, nearly every other tool is built in house. You're not learning Kubernetes, Docker, AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, etc. This makes it harder to transition to other companies but is understandable because Fast wants you to stay around. - Experience varies - Your experience varies depending on the client and project team you're working with and the place you are located. Some clients are awesome while others can be more difficult to work with. Managers may not be qualified to be managers but are in that position because of their years of experience. - Work/life balance - There is a reason Fast pays overtime. It's expected you will work overtime at any project you are at. Fast sets aggressive deadlines and release dates and has never failed to deliver or be replaced. Employees have to be willing to put in the work if they are behind schedule. If you are continually making progress effectively, you usually don't have to work an excessive amount of overtime. Making mistakes and bad decisions means you may work overtime to clean up or redo your work. It's hard to take vacation around releases because you are responsible for so much and if your areas are having problems you need to be around to fix them.