Pros
It’s a pretty easy place to work if you land in the right situation. Typically you won’t have to work more than 40 hrs a week, unless you land in IT or some systems related role which requires being online or on call when systems go down, there is maintenance, etc. The benefits are good…full gym on site, 7% 401k match, decent amount of vacation and sick leave that ramps up after 3 years of service. If you get a good performance review, due to the bonus structure, your compensation can be very good. The mortgage discount can be very good. However, base salary tends to pay slightly less compared to other similar companies. It’s a big company, so its very easy to move around and try new jobs (especially because preference is given to internal hires vs. external hires). Casual dress code on Friday is a plus, though it really could be extended to the full week for most positions.
Cons
There’s a very strange culture that borders on nepotism. Everyone in the building has a family member or spouse that works there. And because the company grew so fast, there are a lot of people in managerial positions that don’t have the skills or knowledge required for their position. They got the role simply based off of seniority. These people also tend to hire more unqualified people to work underneath them, so the company is falling into a cycle of bad hires. So it sort of becomes a “who you know” situation when it comes to promotions. Compensation is highly dependent on bonus, which gives managers a lot of power over their employees. If you land in a bad situation, it can negatively affect your compensation for a year. As for career development, it can be hard to develop marketable skills with the tools/software that Navy uses. I have lobbied for Navy Federal to use tools/software that are more common in the marketplace, but Navy Federal is so behind the curve when it comes to technology that I would be shot down. And there’s only so much you can learn from Lynda.com (free for Navy Fed employees). In addition, the data infrastructure is horrendous. Massive growth over the past 10 years has created an incredibly fractured database system. Third party data tools are common, as they are easier to use than actually fixing the root problem. Efficiency has been ignored at the company because the massive growth is making the company look so good. In turn, senior leadership have sought to “create empires”, hiring just for the sake of making themselves more powerful in terms of number of reports they have. Parking is a huge problem, though it has gotten better with the opening of the new parking garage. There are no telework options, except for some key roles in IT. Everyone is required to be in the office 5 days a week, which is absolutely absurd in this day and age. Especially in the DC metro area, with its ridiculous traffic. Sick Leave and Vacation are in separate buckets, would rather have as single bank of leave. 401k match doesn’t vest for 2 years. The CEO puts on a good public face, but says some things to employees that are downright offensive.
