Pros
Working for and with Democratic campaigns and good organizations, the relaxed work environment, and great healthcare benefits. Friendly, liberally-minded coworkers who (generally) believe in the same causes you do. Flexibility and ability to work remotely or leave for appointments during the day, though this is very dependent on your team.
Cons
Entry-level jobs receive pitiful salaries, around $35k for some teams, with no room for negotiation. This is not a livable salary for DC. Other salaries are below market for DC. To work at NGP VAN is to take a pay cut in order to work for a "progressive" company. The company touts their progressive values but does not live them. Some examples: low salaries with no room for negotiation, lack of investment in hiring diverse staff, and the CEO hiring his friends (mostly white men) for high-level positions with no transparent or outside hiring process/search. How much you enjoy the job will depend heavily on your manager, and management style varies widely, even within the same small team. There's limited training for management and there's a lot of managers who are not easy to work with or for. Higher-ups (both VP-level and lower-level management) will ask for feedback but then are not actually receptive to suggestions. Finally, a lack of foresight from management as the company grows. They have resisted staffing-up some departments at the appropriate rate. HR is way too small for the growing company, and they waited too long to hire new staff for other departments (Support, Data) as the company grew.
