Pros
Better than nothing-- you get by with a little help from your immediate colleagues. Easy to job search from your desk because your supervisor is on "TDY" ie getting a 35% pay raise doing 'business development' in a country where business will never take place. You'll learn right from wrong via direct exposure to what is wrong. Free health care-- take advantage of mental health services while you apply for other jobs.
Cons
Age discrimination-- cannot get through a single all hands meeting without complaining about getting federally audited by "some kids that just got out of high school 5 years ago" High turnover-- you'll spend three months learning your job(zero training helps lengthen that) and the next three months applying to other jobs. Zero professional development opportunities-- your supervisors will actively stunt your learning curve in hopes that you will stay in the job longer because you won't realize that the company is fraudulent and an embarrassment outside of their own bubble. These jabronis are hipocrites trying to 'do Ghandi's work' when they make $200k a year and can't fathom how someone would live on less than $200 a year flying business class on a doctor's note. They are a 'woman owned' business only on paper. They advertise being 'in dc' but the other 95% of the company commutes to Vienna VA even on a snow-day in dangerous conditions. I reported employee abuse to my supervisor and that person said 'if the entry-level employee is willing to narc on their direct supervisor then I will support them, but we all know who it is that is abusive so I don't need to intervene-- they may ruin careers of young professionals but they are a "Brilliant Mind" so we can't lose them." They don't have money for your basic needs or travel because they spent it all canceling $30k of flights on 'business development' for 8 senior key staff and also for their teenage son so that he could fly to Western Africa and take photos with name-credit to put on his resume that he did work for USAID so that he can later attend Berkeley with these credentials. Time for another capture trip? Your boss needs that extra 35% and business class airfare to support their glamorous USG-implementer lifestyle.
