Pros
1. Full-Time, 40+ hours per week. This creates some income stability. 2. Great benefits, including medical, dental, and optical insurance coverage! 3. Flexible schedules. Management was always great about assuring days off when requested in advance). 4. Education. I attended multiple seminars with other assistant managers which taught us the skills needed to do the job well. This was surprisingly helpful.
Cons
1. Low Pay, especially in a state like CA. 2. Flexible schedules. I prefer working on a set schedule, personally. 3. Projects. The store is constantly being rearranged to fit corporate-mandated project setups. I would often spend hours working with employees to arrange a display, only for it to be taken down a week later. 4. The mess, oh god, the mess. You would not believe how screwed up the store can get after a day of moderate customer traffic. 5. Rude customers. Unavoidable as they are, I've been called "racist" for monitoring suspected shoplifters, "dishonest" for not honoring coupons that expired months prior to a sale, and "rude" for not dropping a customer transaction to help those who are too impatient to wait their turn. This was probably the worst part of the job.