Pros
Steady, small, reliable paycheck that keeps the lights on. Direct manager and team are good folk and good to work with (my direct manager is the only reason I have stayed so long). There are no issues with work/life balance; if I need to bail early for an errand or something, I can do so. I am on call 24/7/365, but it is not abused.
Cons
I could write a book here. C-Levels are completely clueless about their I.T. dept, the CIO and CEO specifically, and this malevolent incompetence trickles down from them to taint the entire I.T. department. They recently lost their ENTIRE network team in the space of a few months (this is not exaggeration, the WHOLE WAN/IT-Sec TEAM QUIT and left), and higher management levels just do not seem to care at all. The rest of their I.T. dept is already a skeleton crew, but it is shrinking because of that and many, many other reasons. They have hired a few new network people, but they have mostly just forced the managerial duties onto what few I.T. managers they still have with no additional compensation for any of them. Compounding the existing issues, the CIO refuses to learn even the most minor of details about the global I.T. infrastructure he is responsible for, and treats every expenditure of I.T., however well quoted or thoroughly researched before presentation, as though it were a personal insult to have it on the budget. His attitude towards the people he manages is toxic and disheartening. Working at DNOW in the I.T. department has basically become an exercise in patience and testing one's tolerance levels; for example, trying to keep an infrastructure up and running with no existing network or security team to work with is like trying to run a race with no legs. There are no opportunities to advance an I.T. career at this place. This is not hyperbolic banter or exaggeration: There are no opportunities for raises, career growth, or anything. There is only stagnation and rot here. Stay away.
