Pros
The company has some of the best people you can ask to worth with or for in the area. Many highly educated and experienced individuals who all are committed to their work and their coworkers. You’ll be challenges continuously and there is never a dull moment as Clark is entrusted to build some of the most important and complex projects across the country. Working at Clark will certainly give you a level of confidence that if you ever chose to work somewhere else, that you were set up for success because Clark demands the best out of its employees and that benefits the individual in the long term as well.
Cons
The company is very smart at enticing you to work here but then making it difficult to stay. For example, the company rolls out the red carpet for interns, new hires, and professional hires. Simply said, the company’s reputation gets your attention and the interview experience usually is superior to competitions. The company gives raises every 6 months for the first 3 years, you get vested in your 401k after 2-3 years, first promotion happens around year 2-3, get 3rd week of vacation after year 3, most get invited to PM boot camp (prerequisite to PM promotion) around year 3-4, and most get promoted to PM around year 4-5. After, most employees open their eyes to find out they are working a ton of hours (50-70 including Saturdays), they cannot afford to buy a home in the DC market, and that other companies are willing to pay them more for the same or often times less work. When it comes to employee benefits and compensation, it’s fair to say to experienced folks, Clark is behind the industry. Other similar sized competitors offer company vehicles sooner, more vacation, 100% paid healthcare, etc. while Clark relies on its reputation alone at times. The company (smartly) dangles the proverbially carrot in front of you for your first 4-5 years but banks that you are too comfortable leaving the people you know, the processes you’ve learned, and the reputation you’ve built to start over somewhere new. It is really frustrating for those who believe in being rewarded for loyalty that it’s demanded, but not often returned. Iv know way too many people who have left the company and after they signed elsewhere, we’re offered the money/vacation they felt like they deserved. Clark had continuously touted themselves and their internal goals as being the best place to work but iv seen relatively no changes in my time at this company. I believe I’m one of only a small handful of people who was hired in my new hire class who still works here. To me, that seems concerning. There is always this notion that, “If only you stayed a bit longer” than you’d see the fruits of your labor but as iv come to know managers in excess of 7-10 years more than myself at the company, they are being told the same things still. The transparency or lack there of is truly one of the downfalls of the company and the longer you stay, the more you understand why there is no transparency at the company, because you wouldn’t appreciate the truth. If you’re a dedicated career first individual, the company may offer you the ability to meet your goals and check boxes because Clark is the biggest and the best at a lot of things, but if you value family, happiness, and having enough money to live in a decent home and help put your kids through college, you, like many, will see Clark as a resume builder to get you to a company where you can actually see yourself staying and making it a career company.