Work is hell, but Satan pays well.
Pros
Do you have a technical background or interest, but no degree? Great! DISH will do well by you. Even if you don't, they'll still take you, as long as you show a modicum of ability to multitask and use a computer. Offers great pay for the area for relatively unskilled work. DISH provides training, 4 weeks or so, to get you up to speed. Continuous training after that will keep you apprised of new equipment, new promotions, and just about everything you should need to do your job. . Loyalty is shown in monetary form. In 5 years, it's possible to go from $9-11/hr to more than double that. You do also get profit sharing, once a year as a 401K account, that the company will also provide a small match for if you put money in every paycheck. You can get sales commissions, a recent development that can certainly bolster your paycheck - if you meet 100% or better of all of your performance metrics. The money, combined with the benefits, makes it easy to create a life around the career of working at DISH. If you like gadgets, you'll get to learn about some of the newest, and maybe even get to take them home. If you like TV, you get it for free. The best thing about working at DISH is all of people you will meet & interact with. The people you work with become like a family to you. You find that you have the opportunity to become single-serving friends with people around the country in places you've never even heard of. Work is rarely boring.
Cons
Work at DISH becomes your life. During training, you learn a dizzying array of technical terms, business rules and procedures that you use every day, and you think about even when not working. These rules change at any given moment - but training is often thin and skims over important details that will unavoidably come into play during work later. It's hard to summon energy to have a life after talking to a mix of angry people, constantly changing job goals, and management that makes sure you're aware that you can be replaced in an instant. The company expects 100% of your focus, and 100% of your time. If you don't mind that, you'll do great - and it may well be to your benefit (see above about sales & performance incentives). However, the metrics you are scored on are often arbitrary, and either beyond your control or are subjective, and often both. If these scores are not exactly what the company wants them to be or better, it could cost you thousands in bonus & incentive pay. These metrics are also a constantly moving target, by the way, and will undoubtedly change the moment you accustom yourself to work with them. If the company wants you there more than your scheduled hours, it will often demand mandatory extra time. This is great if you need more pay, but less so if you want to actually accomplish anything with your time off. Being a phone agent, the company keeps time available between calls to an absolute minimum. DISH does not want you to be able to take a spare breath between incoming phone calls, as it would be wasting money - if there's a gleam of space between calls, the company will tell you you can leave - for an hour, or half hour maybe - unpaid. As an hourly phone agent, unless you take them during your scheduled breaks, you are expected to punch out if you need to visit the lavatory. Salaried or off phone hourly agents are not held to this expectation. Medical benefits are offered, but are often missing crucial parts. For a job where the primary function is mental, it is incredible that mental health coverage is not offered in anyway. Furthermore, there is no support available for you if you do want to talk with someone about the stresses you feel doing your everyday work. This can be exceedingly difficult when your job consists of speaking to angry & frustrated people all day. Technical Support agents should not be held to sales goals. The company has sales agents just for that purpose. Customers appreciate being educated about their service, but not sales driven for an extra buck. The company encourages bending the moral & business guidelines to meet your goals, but will punish you if you're actually caught breaking them. Advancement opportunities are abundant, and the corporate HR structure promises a transparent, fair and equal application & interview process. Yet this never happens - local management will lose your paperwork, or they'll interview you, score you on the interview, but still deny you or approve you based on how much they "like" you. Managers in the call center tend to hold grudges.