Pros
Middle management will do everything in their power to help you succeed and further your education, whether it's in your current position or where you want to go.
If you prove you can get results, you have more autonomy than you'd find elsewhere and less micro managing. You'll also be here as long as you want to be.
Spend two years here and you will have a polished skillset to take it to the next level.
Might be a pro or con but the IT department is so thin that if there's an area you want to grow into, the opportunity is there, but it will certainly require time outside of work to accomplish it. With this route however, roles are created in this company.
Cons
Upper management isn't too inclined to pay market value for anyone.
Upward mobility doesn't really exist as everyone that is in IT has been in their roles for a decade or more, minus two individuals, one of them being me.
The only time you really get a nice raise is if you're promoted, which in my previous statement indicated doesn't happen often. It is a rare occurrence.