Employees are cattle - Reality Show atmosphere
Pros
If you play the political game you're fine. You can have a long and stable career. Coming in you can even get almost market compensation and a benefits package. Once you're in, As a software engineer, I found that if you have no ambition to grow within your field, and don't mind working about four to seven years behind the times, you will be fine and have a long career on cruise control.
Cons
Pay is always below market - unless you're a new hire. Then they don't pay above market, they try to sell you on stability. It's a fear tactic. And honestly, there is no stability. If you kiss up to the right people, the right way, there is some stability. But make no mistake. Arrow does not profit from innovation. They profit from cost cutting. And you are nothing more than a line item on a budget. They would rather hold on to their (as I once heard a manager say) "Indentured Servants from India" who they VASTLY underpay and overwork, holding their work visas over their heads, than hold on to you. Even if you show you are highly skilled and prove your work ethic. They'll compliment you. But you will not be rewarded with market value compensation. Your new-hire offer will be the best your compensation does versus market value your entire tenure at Arrow. As a developer, do not hope to introduce modern ideas anytime soon. Even external customer tools and web technology stacks are decided in favor of "one platform" which actually complicates what should be simple and keeps their talent working in technology and methodologies that are years behind. Do not expect to leave Arrow with a lot of market-valuable skills. Expect to find a transitional job where you can get back up to date first. Even contracting positions using the web technology stacks that ECS IT uses pays at about 75% of what the market bears for current web technology rates per hour. A great indicator: In 2010 the corporate standard browser was IE7. Until Microsoft officially ended support for IE7, Arrow refused to change until forced. IE8 was still the corporate standard browser in 2014!!!!! Until 2012, as a WEB developer, I was forbidden to install Firefox or Chrome on my computer without special permission and management from IT helpdesk. Working in ECS IT is an absolutely morale-killing, career-damaging, innovation-vacuum. Management is in the business of keeping people in line and low-cost. The most talented people I was around were very unhappy but afraid that the economy made job-hopping out of something "secure" undoable (this is part of design - a lot of Arrow's message at company townhall meetings is one of Arrow keeping the world employed during tough times). Or they were talented people from India whose work visas held them to Arrow.
