Pros
The premise of the project is great, and it could be a good project. This is an all right place for a temporary seasonal employee to develop a set of skills; however, don’t stay too long! Move on!
Cons
NEON is poorly managed, and it has an extremely chaotic work environment. I agree completely with a statement: “Everything is run from Boulder by yuppies, who think they are better than you and know your domain better than the people who live there.” One works hard out in the field, and that person is pestered with trivial things by someone from headquarters, including managers. Quite a few people are nice in one’s face, however, in reality, they are true back stabbers! The HR department is one of the worst that one can imagine. There is NO place to report misbehavior, present complaints, or express concerns, because of unethical practices. The initial interview with HR was, basically just a scripted set of questions, with little of substance to determine a potential employee’s skill set. Then, when one is on-boarded, a video is presented about needing to have the workplace be a place of respect. Instead, this is an abusive work environment, where people are treated very disrespectfully. Also there are unethical hiring practices and salary determinations. Also the review process is a complete farce! I have never worked for a place with such a high turnover rate. Many good people get fed up with the stressful environment and chaos. Promotions are a joke! They mean more responsibilities and meager increase in compensation. Management has a way of presenting itself, as if is is looking out for the interests of the field technicians; however, they are a bunch of hypocrites, and their micro-managing makes for an extremely stressful job. It is, in reality. A very abusive work environment! Last, the systems, which are in place, are too bureaucratic to accomplish anything. I would NOT be surprised if word gets to higher levels of government, which would result in a Congressional investigation.