Pros
DISH can be a great way to build a well-rounded resume and would recommend it for people new to marketing or just out of school. DISH likes to say it runs "lean" so there is always more work to do than people to do it. If you're driven you can take a lot and learn a lot from it. Additionally, you do have a lot of exposure to senior and executive management which can help you learn the skill of managing up as well as provides a crash course on how to navigate corporate and inter-departmental politics. If you work hard and can show results you can be promoted quickly and vault yourself into managing a team in just a couple of year's time. However, results alone won't do this, you need to be prepared to market yourself and make sure you're the type of person executives like to promote. The overwhelming pro is the people you work with. You'll stay longer than you want because of these people. There is a sense of camaraderie with your peers and coworkers. You're all inmates at Shawshank prison and you'll band together in spite of the warden. Seriously, the people you work with and interact with are fantastic. If you have a good manager, which I did, they can insulate you. I was tremendously lucky and grateful for my manager.
Cons
Let's see the biggest one: compensation. No matter how HR, Charlie, or your bosses spin it, once you get above entry-level you are paid at least 30% less than your market value. This should be repeated as it is not an exaggeration - YOU ARE PAID AT LEAST 30% LESS THAN YOUR MARKET VALUE. In many cases it could be well more. This is not made up by providing employees with stellar benefits, perks, or work-life balance. In fact, the benefits and work-life balance are worse. Though Charlie will say that it's to cut costs and increase salary the benefits are laughable. There is little to no work/life balance as you are working the equivalent of 2 jobs at all times. Oh, and because you have to be badged into the building between 9-4 every day, without the ability to work from home (a good manager will actually let you work from home but you're not allowed to talk about it). However, if you were handpicked and recruited by senior or executive management you can work out of state two weeks a month in the face of everyone you work with. It really comes down to a lack of trust from management to employees. Don't bother getting to know your HR rep. They will either leave in 3 months or be reassigned because another rep left. Despite Erik being the CEO, Charlie still runs and influences most of the decisions at DISH. This means every process, practice, and policy is antiquated and refuses to acknowledge the modern workforce. Employees were told that there was not a work from home policy because it was not fair to all the departments as not everyone could work from home. This included service technicians. While on the surface it's noble to preach fairness, Service technicians and marketers know the requirements needed to get a job done and where they NEED to be to do that job. in 2019 (the year I left), marketers needed a computer and internet connection - not necessarily an office. Lastly, most executives are close-minded and whiny and if you challenge them you will be labeled as anti-company and held back. Make sure you understand what your executive wants to hear and echo it back because an honest conversation or constructive feedback is a death sentence.
