Pros
There's a great technical diversity at ITS, where someone thirsty for overall technical experience will be happy as a pig in mud. Also, the non-management employees are genuinely good people to work with. For someone looking to gain experience in various technologies, and is willing to devote 100 percent of their time (including personal time) to that pursuit, it's a great opportunity for learning.
Cons
For brevity's sake I'll stick to the worst aspects - - The Cult of ITS Be clear about it - if you aren't prepared to be assimilated into the starry-eyed, everything-is-awesome attitude that is ITS, you'll be considered a black sheep. Not in the sense that a normal company rightfully expects a positive working atmosphere and expects employees to be enthusiastic and supportive of their company, instead they try to instill a truly cult-like environment that EVERYTHING IS ALWAYS AWESOME ALL THE TIME, regardless of how much in truth it might actually not be, woefully needs to be addressed, or could greatly be improved. The cancer this glassy-eyed attitude creates is that most employees just don't say anything out of fear of being "negative", so regular, run-of-the-mill issues go unaddressed, adding to an already heavy workload. The hypocrisy of all this is that professionals usually focus on the positives around them and rightfully celebrate them, but simply address the negatives head-on, remedying them if it's possible and bearing them with a smile if not. The pretend world of "everything is awesome and don't you dare say anything different" goes against human nature and instead it just breeds apathy out of fear of losing your job. A most glaring example would be the time that the electricity of the facility was inadequate to support all of the computers and networking equipment, so anywhere from two to four times a day the entire office would just shut off - computers, phones, network, everything. So in mid-conversation with the software vendor you (and your client) waited hours to get on the phone with, *poof*, gone. Along with the ticket you were in the middle of adding detailed notes to. Etc. This went on every day for over a month with everyone scared to say anything about it, until I finally had to approach management and ask "can we get an electrician in here to look at this, this is impacting productivity so bad and can be very easily fixed!" This was considered complaining, of course. Also, their "training" - if you have time for it - actually involves thoroughly non-technical and non-customer service materials, where it was decided what life-changing books you should be reading or what you should be watching, such as "The Secret", money management books, and various self-help gurus. While presumably well-intentioned, it's also awkward and intrusive. (But I guess that's what cults are all about?) - Chronically understaffed & overworked As part of the cult philosophy that management encourages, the entry standards for the company were so high that they couldn't get any new employees. Applicants had to take an hour-long online test before even getting an interview, but they didn't give the applicant the courtesy of explaining why they have to take the test, or even let them know beforehand so it could be planned for. This resulted in most people starting the test, getting into it, then quitting in the middle, most likely because they ran out of time and said "what the heck is this, NASA???" and blew it off. As part of the cult delusion, the purpose of the test is to weed out weaklings. OK, great concept and all, but when you're chronically understaffed, wouldn't it make sense that instead of trying to recruit one person who can do 10 things well, (which is rare), why not do like the rest of the world and get five people who do 2 things well? - A complete lack of structure There was no structure of responsibility for anyone. Someone qualified as an engineer will likely end up spending most of the day doing tier 1 desktop support. That can be argued fairly where "everyone does what needs to be done for the good of the team", but at the same time, it's impossible to focus on anything, ever. Between the constantly ringing phones, techs yelling into their phones at each of your elbows, and the constant jumping from ticket to ticket, it's more mentally draining than even the most high-stress environments. Added to this is a thorough lack of management consistency where there's no policy, procedure, or reasonable expectation for anything, so there's no time-saving reference for any situation. Each situation is done by the seat of the pants basically, causing everything to always be confusing. - There's no way to positively spin a place that's a dump It's one thing to work in a less-than-desirable environment when you're part of a start-up, that goes with the territory when you have a stake in the company's growth. It's an entirely different thing when you're hiring white collar employees expected to sit in the back of a warehouse in a windowless green and orange room, elbow to elbow at a long countertop, phones ringing off the hook, and people yelling like it's a Wall Street trading floor. As part of a rent-free deal in return for IT support, ITS is in another business's building, utilizing a dirty back room of a warehouse for no discernible reason other than management are too cheap to spend for a proper office. (It's not like the company couldn't afford it, they're very profitable.) But along with the rest of the Cult of ITS philosophy, you shouldn't have a negative thought about that because the money they save is spent on the good of the company. - An HR nightmare Even the most inexperienced HR manager would be absolutely horrified at what goes on in the name of a "non-corporate environment". Outside of just conversational subject matter that should never be allowed in a workplace no matter what the type of workplace, it's a lot like being in a daycare. Put it this way - it's one thing to have a "non-corporate" or "casual" environment, but it's a completely different thing for a person sitting two feet from you to lift his butt up from his seat and blow a loud stinky fart across the room while you're on the phone with a customer, and then have management laugh about it. Daily. Enough said.
