Pros
1. Work with some of the best and brightest people in their fields. 2. Work on diverse, interesting, big projects with a team drawn from across the company. 3. Learn from your Community of Practice (with practice leader and regular virtual meetings). 4. Take advantage of the mentoring program to be a mentee or mentor. 5. Enjoy the fruits of SKM's business strategy in focussing on valued "relationship clients." 6. Be formally acknowledged for your capabilities as you become rated/certified in technical competence (in an in-house skills/discipline matrix) and known across the company for your skills. Some or all of this might change as SKM recently merged with Jacobs, a much larger company (name changed to Jacobs SKM).
Kontras
1. Some managers may not be so great at actual people management, as they are most likely good at being engineers/scientists and project managers, which is not the same skill set. 2. While useful, the custom systems used in-house for project management can be cumbersome and time-consuming. 3. Depsite the extensive use of afore-mentioned systems, undocumented knowledge still tends to lurk in the heads and hands of old-timers. 4. The current economic climate has led to a round of lay-offs (though not as soon or as severe as in similar companies).