Pros
I really love and respect my colleagues. They are passionate, brilliant, and truly dedicated to the company mission of "improving the human condition." And generally, the quality of work produced is very good....even though we charge Clients insane overheads and project implementation is increasingly strained.
Cons
It's a cold, corporate environment, with no real goal of "improving the human condition" anywhere within its own walls. Layoffs have been pervasive and brutal, with extremely poor management from HR and executive leadership. Employees are often not made aware of their impending doom until the absolute last minute, and justification for layoffs is not transparent beyond "financial issues." No one is safe - one eliminated employee was a dedicated, quality worker who had been with the company for over 20 years. He was just moments from a happy retirement. Instead, he (and eight others just like him, of all ages and experience) were unceremoniously booted out the door so insensitively that our whole division is horrified. These were good, quality employees with good performance reviews and high billing percentages. Federal funding issues are certainly a challenge to the industry, but keep in mind that the average RTI VP is raking in over $200,000 OR MORE per year (many with no discernible contributions to the company), plus a series of plush benefits. A little odd for a non profit, don't you think? RTI also just sunk over $60 million into a fancy new building on campus, plus an undetermined amount on expanding its high end DC office and acquiring smaller firms. Huge overhead costs are passed on to clients and customers; a key reason the company is no longer winning as many awards. Hmmm.... The company priorities are shocking considering RTI's supposed mission to improve the world around it - so proceed with caution. You could end up a casualty in a war that benefits no one but the talking heads.