Pros
Dish is a company that offers plentiful opportunities for young people to start careers. In five years, I have been promoted multiple times. Yes it is a competitive environment, but I am in sales. Most companies with similar positions offer only commission based earnings, Dish offers a very decent base salary and has commission on top of it. Naturally with a guaranteed salary there will be demands for performance, but I think Dish gets a bad rap for two reasons: One, we hire a lot of young people right out of college that are not familiar with a sales environment and are used to hourly, service oriented positions. People that work for Pharma sales know they can rack up big commissions but also know they can be fired the instant they do not hit numbers, so when that happens nobody pitches a fit. Our young employees come in with an expectation that there is a minimum requirement list that they just need to meet in order to be secure in their jobs, but this is sales and results/growth matter. Two, being just out of college, there is an expectation of being overly praised for simply doing what is expected, an 'A' for effort, and there is an expectation of a 'finish line'. Dish is about constant improvement and growth, so having one solid accomplishment does not entitle you to slack off for a week, it is not like finishing a semester at school and getting a winter/summer break, this is the real world. We have a solid base of recent graduates, some of whom thrive with the opportunities to show their value and rise within the company, but some wash out at the shock of actual performance expectations. Being a generation that is particularly savvy at social media, you are going to hear a lot from the young washouts; Dish is a great company for those willing to work hard and move up, but opportunities are not handed out, you have to set YOURSELF apart. We have a solid future ahead of us and things are constantly changing and advancing and you have to be adaptable to keep up, that is the nature of the industry and the only way the company will continue to be successful. I for one am grateful for the opportunities Dish has given me.
Cons
If you don't use your vacation time periodically/wisely, you can burn yourself out.