Pros: Learned a lot when it came to software development, critical thinking, and teamwork.

Cons: Remote work had its cons, such as missing the human element.

Pros: We are working on some very important issues for our Defense Dept and International Customers. It's nice to know you're helping those service members who are out there on the front lines every day and night protecting the interests of the USA.

Cons: With the focus on LEAN and various value stream schemes, we are very lean in the area I work. That means more pressure to perform at the highest possible levels. That pressure isn't hammered upon me from my supervisors; it is an internal thing that I feel from within. When the Commercial side of the business is suffering, it's up to the IDS side of the house to do their best for the company. For the last 4+ years, IDS has kept this company afloat through some difficult times.

Pros: Great compensation, great benefits, good people with competent leadership. For a software engineer, Boeing is a good place to grow as a leader managing complexity, but technical growth is limited to very specific facets of the defense industry. The work is somewhat interesting/enjoyable, and there are opportunities to present advances to the company and industry. Social ambition (offering to manage projects, presenting, running meetings, etc.) is rewarded greatly, and technical ambition is rewarded only with breakthroughs, patents, etc.

Cons: In St. Louis, the location is pretty awful – in a bad area of town and older, dreary office buildings. My biggest complaint is that the company is so large and there are so many technical problems being solved that there is a ton of redundancy. You might be working on a solution for a year, only to find that another team has implemented something very similar. Joining the solutions may be technically or politically difficult, so then each team attempts to justify its pursuit of the solution. Technical competence is rewarded differently by different teams, and to truly stand out, I recommend joining an advanced technology organization like Phantom Works. This gives you the opportunity to work on more interesting DARPA projects and to pursue patents. While leadership is generally competent, the overall management system at Boeing is overly complex, and it can be very frustrating.