Pros
Opportunity for moving up if you dedicate the time to it and fit a certain "look". Yearly concerts were fun. Great networking opportunities. If you have good direct manager, you can be somewhat successful. Most people are pretty friendly there. If you ask for training, you can normally get it, such as certifications. Accommodation for TV services was great.
Cons
Healthcare coverage is absolutely terrible. The price vs. benefit is not worth while. "Good ol' boys" club at Director and above level (At least in IT), and if you aren't part of it, or willing to subject yourself to it you will struggle to move up. Discrimination based on looks, was told I was no longer eligible for advancement due to my appearances, which it is what it is, but if someone would've told me that before I started I wouldn't have worked there 6 years. My overall looks did not change in the time I was there. Annual "Trimming the fat" terminations is a disgusting practice, but mostly exists because there is no accountability for managers to actually manage their employees. It was not based on performance either, I was told I needed to cut someone from my team, and either I picked or they did. I let them pick as they were just trying to appease shareholders and lower our headcount. Core hours - You have to be there by 9 AM and can't leave before 4PM or you'll show up on a list. Used to be called badge report, they have changed the name but still monitor it as there is no trust with employees. If I had to work from home until 3 AM, I would still be expected by upper management to be in office by 9AM. You can see the mad rush of most employees leaving at "Core o'clock" at 4 PM. Annual PA scores are a joke, and should not be taken serious as I had times they told me to change all my employees scores just to fit a bell curve, and not actually based on performance. Was told that upper management didn't read any of my well thought comments on my employees scores, and that I just needed to lower to get an overall average number. Felt like there were many times that we would try to turn a ship on a dime to fit a change, without any input from the teams and Subject Matter Experts. Work from home policy, or therefore lack of, is pretty bad. If you have a manager that will fight for you, you're good, but if you have an issue at home and are capable of working from home you are expected to use time-off. Many two-faced directors and VP's there, they would do lip service to you in person, and then talk behind your back to other leaders. If you weren't on campus by 8:30, finding a parking spot was a challenge. Spots seem to be more narrow than the average parking lot, my car had more dings show up in the first year there, than it did in the 4 years before I started there. Lack of communication of changes from teams that directly impact other teams and users, with minimal accountability. I would often have to waste my time figuring out what changed, rather than someone coming forward with what they did. Charlie Ergen is used as a scapegoat for mundane things. Seems to be a lack of ownership for business decisions and everything is done because "Charlie wants it done this way".
