Pros
Awesome job security. Even when the market crashed in 2008 they did everything they could to keep full-time crew (at the expense of contractors). The 10% 401(k) benefit plus 4% match is awesome. People criticize the salaries, but if you add the 14% to the cash you're getting, it's not as bad as you think. I had a six-figure 401(k) after six years, which I really appreciate. The June Partnership payment (think profit sharing) is usually pretty good. There's an end of year bonus too, but it's usually much less. I found the health and vision plans more than met my needs. Time off starts 18 days a year and increases with tenure. By the fifth calendar year, you're up to 23 days, and you can buy 5 more. Like a lot of places, your experience will depend on the department, manager, and team you have. If you're lucky, you get into a position that works for you. Coworkers are generally nice, and will help when you need it.
Cons
In my opinion, the biggest problem is laxness. It manifests itself all over: - Some come in late and leave early as often as they can get away with. In fact, I knew a guy that came in after 9am, left before 3pm, took a lunch, and watched YouTube whenever he was at his desk. He got promoted. - Some "work" from home as often as they can get away with. Sometimes when I did it, I was working on my XBox. - If you're dependent on someone to do their job, you might find yourself impeded. In some cases, I waited weeks. - I knew a guy that parked in the visitors spots because he was coming in late and didn't want to walk. It took years until he was caught. I hated my working environment: - They took away the cubicles are put in an open "Office of the Future". It was noisy. I had a meeting room right behind my desk. Also a scrum area used all day long, including for the teaching of classes. People did phone calls from their desk, and I could hear coworkers rows away word-for-word. There was times I couldn't hear my own scrum. - Vanguard leased the building I was in, and it lacked proper HVAC. I defied dress code and wore sweatshirts most of winter. During the polar vertex, a coworker's thermometer read 59 degrees. I went home that day. - Vanguard has been doing very well, and hires like crazy. Space is at a premium, and what were originally collaboration tables turned into contractors' desks. Because Vanguard hires pretty much everyone they can, there is a wide spread in abilities. When I got hired there wasn't a technical review. My friends said there was a contractor who consistently got nothing done, and it took years until he was let go. I felt my department didn't value technical skills. The high ratings went to the people who did showy presentations and dominated meetings because visibility is everything. In fact, in my final year I spent more time in meetings than writing code. There were planning meetings, scrum meetings, requirements meetings, retrospective meetings, team meetings...make yourself useful in those and you'll do well. The raises are awful, usually less than 2%. They created this video for us explaining how the pay evaluations are done. They tried to make the viewers feel guilty for wanting a raise, because of course they means company costs go up. Living in Chester County is not cheap -- my rent went up as fast as my salary, so I didn't feel I was gaining ground. They say you can switch positions every 18 months. However, competition was tough. I tried multiple times to get away from an unpleasant situation and when I couldn't, HR was less than helpful. This was the biggest reason why I left -- it was the only escape hatch I had. I often found you couldn't tell people things they didn't want to hear. The new CEO added a "be candid" plank to the leadership standards, which I found funny. I wondered how well it would fly in practice. They used to provide lots of training opportunities. But that has fallen by the wayside because "watch a video" is cheaper. There is a major emphasis on charity at Vanguard, with multiple drives each year. I get why the company wants to be seen as "giving back to the community." However, it does have a downside in that at least some employees wondered if they are being judged on whether they gave the "suggested" amount. To Vanguard's credit, they did tone it down a bit in recent years -- I think there was complaining. I personally found the drives tedious. If I wanted to work at a charity, I'd go work at a charity.