Very Good place to work, but hard to advance career.
Pros
Once main thing about this company is that it really hires the best and brightest. While intelligent, the culture is not stuffy and pretty laid back. Assignments can be challenging, but in a good way. They allow creativity and empower you to contribute meaningfully. Benefits and compensation coming into the door is very good. They try to communicate business and overall company business information effectively - at least within your given line of business. They try to do their best to keep their good employees, even in bad times; and if they have to make hard decisions, they try to do so as professionally as possible. Great holiday parties (in HQ-DC area)!
Cons
Career advancement can be difficult. They have very specific career paths which is difficult to move into a certain direction because of unclear criteria or changes in management. (They are mainly a project-based company so your "manager" can change with each assignment.) Annual reviews are difficult too. In the years I've been there, the review process has changed every year, sometimes being more lengthy or subjective than it should. Being in one line of business over another can be competitive as well. They don't seem to want to easily let you go to another LOB because that may mean lost business for them. You also need to be a go-getter and be expected to be a valued contributor. This can be viewed positively or negatively by some, but I didn't have problems with this unspoken view and found it rewarding. However, if you expect easy assignments or don't contribute, you will struggle here.
