Pros
TerpSys is an IT services company who's primary source of income is derived from providing IT services to a government agency in the Washington DC metro area. As a small/medium company (approx 250+ employees) TerpSys provides an excellent work experience, especially for those new to the IT industry. The pay is above average for the industry, and employees are given excellent chances to earn a pay raise and bonus yearly. The medical/dental benefits are very good. Although the cost of medical insurance has gone up, the company pays quite a generous share of your insurance. I have been consistently told by medical and dental offices that my insurance benefits are among the best you can have. The opportunities for training/certification are above average for the industry. Employees are required to obtain one industry certification per year. The company pays for any certification tests that you pass, and pays to send you to training at least once per year. Emphasis is placed on teamwork and participation. More so than at a larger company. At TerpSys, you are not just an anonymous number on someone's spreadsheet. There are plenty of opportunities for participation. Charity events, a yearly company picnic, a yearly company "holiday" party, monthly birthday lunches, committees, etc. First line managers are much more technical than at any other company I have worked for. Employees who are interested in management opportunities are encouraged and mentored, and if qualified, will eventually be promoted to management. If your interest is not to become a manager, but instead become an "uber-guru" and keep the tools in your hands, that is fine as well. I work with front line engineers who have been with the company for over 10 years, as well as managers who have been with the company for less time. The president of TerpSys seems genuinely interested in the well being of his employees. I voluntarily work 9 hour work days in order to get 1 weekday off per pay period. I get to tele-work one day per week. I get all the government holidays off. I get enough personal time off to be able to take a nice vacation every year. The work is interesting and there is always something to keep me technically challenged.
Cons
There are always cons to working anywhere, because it's impossible to please 100% of employees 100% of the time. That said, there are a few things that might throw off new employees unless they get used to it. Being a government contractor can be a challenge. Our customer environment deals with a lot of research and contains a large concentration of people with PhD's. Some of these people also have odd personalities that take getting used to. Government budgets are tight, and it's not always easy to obtain what you need to get the job done. There is a necessary amount of "politics" associated with the job, and not everyone can handle that. There have been times when I have questioned the validity of the resumes of some of the people I work with. Some days are fun, some days are frustrating. As far as TerpSys is concerned, the cons are minor enough to not impact my desire to stay on the job. For example, and as others have posted, there is a monthly staff meeting at an off-site location, which is held on my own time and not on company time. Corporate makes an effort to keep it to around an hour. There are some things that could be eliminated, shortened, or turned into emails, to make the meeting better. Little things like that, when taken individually, don't amount to much of a con. But when they accumulate, then things become an irritant. Still, I've been here a few years and so far, nothing that can't be handled with an attitude adjustment, a talk with my supervisor, or some stress relieving after work activities. Very similar in fact, to pretty much everywhere else where I have worked.