Pros
The variety of different projects is nice (assuming the company actually gives you work) and being able to work with different teams of employees is a good perk. The one truly good thing I can say about CDM Smith from my time there is the flexibility in schedule. If you like getting to work early, sure you can do that. If you like sleeping in a little bit more, that works too. And being able to work from home occasionally is really nice.
Cons
Too many to list! Don't expect any bonuses, decent raises, or good reviews. After doing everything that was asked of me (and a lot, LOT more) I was given a 50 cent raise and a very bad review after a year. That's not even the cost of living adjustment. Promoting from within is almost non-existent after witnessing a couple fellow employees being passed on twice, despite the fact they are both phenomenal workers and the new hires are way less experienced. There are too many loopholes and traps built into the benefit system where, unless you satisfy certain obscure parameters, you'll get charged more every pay period. And a 10% increase in health insurance costs yearly! That coupled with the pitiful raises makes your cost of living go UP every year and your net pay go DOWN. Get use to the fact that your co-workers, managers, and clients expect you to completely give up your personal life (including planned vacations!!!) to do work that isn't even yours to begin with. Oh and all that work will not be in their budgets, so your utilization will go down and you'll get yelled at by your managers and HR or you won't get credit for all the hours you do for them and so you won't get paid for it. I was sent angry emails and scathing looks for the two weeks preceding a planned holiday vacation that had been planned for months that my co-workers knew about several weeks in advance. Apparently it was my fault that some work wouldn't get done during that period of time, work that I never knew about and wasn't even supposed to be mine. How's that for employee treatment? This company, with the new upper management, is so focused on profits that they're basically putting all of the low rank employees into situations where it is impossible to succeed in your position. They've moved away from doing the right thing (which might take more time) to doing the more profitable thing (which will create budget shortages, stress, and a LOT of anger). Finally, don't expect any of your co-workers to help you out when you're in-between projects or are a little light on work. This is a "good old boys" club, so unless you're in one of their inner circles, expect to get zero sympathy from them when your hours get cut because the company doesn't have any work for you and they won't share any of their extra work with you. This is consulting, so all of your work is based off of project utilization. When you're light on utilization, absolutely NO ONE will help you out, even when you're a brand new entry level employee and are supposed to have over 30 hours of project work a week, even though your manager only gives you 10. Also, your co-workers don't care about you, even if you're a career worker who's retiring after 25 years with the company. They will come for the free food at your celebration and then promptly leave without even saying congrats. Social gatherings are non-existent and even when they do happen, it's a complete joke and waste of time. CDM Smith's system is completely broken and I don't think it will ever get better.
