Pros
It is a well run company with an honorable mission. Things are well organized. Processes are well defined and you know what to expect. There are not many surprises. By far, Raytheon is the most ethical company I have ever worked at. Employees are encouraged to do the right thing and there appears to be little tolerance for those who don't. The company hangs its hat on integrity and excellence. Generally speaking, the leadership is good. They invest in training and developing their employees. Some complain they don't, but they do. There is regular communcation at the corporate and business level about what it going on in the industry and in the company. When I worked there, I heard a lot of complaints about diversity. It is much more diverse than where I am now with a global conglomerate. The 9/80 work week is a huge plus and makes up for longer hours on the other days. Career paths are well defined and training is available to everyone. They do an employee survey and actually take action. There are some wicked smart people who work there and it was an honor to work with them.
Cons
Because of the long lead time on projects, you could be in the same job for a while and"get stuck". So, you have to really manage your career and communicate desires to manager. Moving between businesses can be challenging if you don't have a network, but it can be done. Sometimes leaders are promoted into roles they are not ready for and management is too slow to address. There is great work on cool technology, however the skills and knowledge is undervalued by other industries. If you don't plan to stay long, know that you'll have to overcome that perception.
