Pros
I can’t say I came away with any transferable or tangible skill sets that I use at my new job. Though PCORI’s (higher than average) salaries provided me with the ability to leverage my worth and obtain a very solid salary bump. A handful of senior PCORI staff with job connections elsewhere (think health policy, fed govt, and think tank type orgs), were quick and very willing to help with my new job search. I think it’s because senior staff are used to seeing more junior staff make a run for it after a year or two and are willing to help. PCORI’s Director, Joe Selby, is incredibly kind and makes a point to get to know you. He’s retiring, though.
Cons
By and large, colleagues really weren’t nice and pleasant to work with. For me personally, I had to interface with a belittling and all around disastrous wannabe manager (though this person was not in fact my manager). I stressed my concerns to higher ups and HR but not much of anything was done. Within my division, petty behavior was rampant. Early on, a number of officers were upset that they were lower on the totem pole compared to the (younger than them) associate director (who i should note is very much qualified for the AD job). The heated conversations and petty arguments with one another became old quickly. It shouldn’t be hard for adults to leave their egos at the door. Reauthorization concerns were a constant. While I think PCORI will get reauthorized, I imagine the organization’s work and mandate will change substantially. I don’t envision staff that are still with the organization being happy about it. PCORI is still very much a scrappy unknown organization. From where I sat, I never had a sense of efficacy with my work, nor could I meaningfully convey to lay people why PCORI’s work was important.