Pros
The majority of the non-manager IT employees were great to work with, probably because they’re in the same sinking ship as you. There was a “tour of the US” to show off a new project, per diem included.
Cons
Higher-ups from departments that have nothing to do with IT will dictate your work. The IT managers are totally unwilling or unable to help you out—I would guess that they are scared that their managers will be emailed next. You get rewarded with things like stress balls and the ability to wear jeans. You will work hard on a project but if no one tests it properly you end up getting blamed for it. The non-IT people have no idea how to even turn on a computer and have gotten used to App Support fixing their problems rather than learning it themselves. Our manager was friends with a recruiter who did most of the references for App Support. Any time you started looking for a job on LinkedIn, the recruiter would tell your manager. Employees had to go through that recruiter or his company. It’s insane that that’s even legal. My manager knew I was leaving months before I even started looking in earnest. The only healthcare plan option is a high deductible.