Pros
Good benefits (healthcare is great!), good PTO and sick leave, friendly colleagues. Stable job; in the past, IPA has avoided major lay-offs, even during major downturns in the economy. You'll interact with clients directly as an entry-level analyst, which is not common.
Kontras
Being a project analyst at IPA puts you at high risk for low job satisfaction: - the starting pay may be competitive, but raises are not significant; there are no cost of living salary adjustments - the role (and other roles within IPA) is understaffed, which results in training that is too fast and taking on too much work too soon - IPA is a flat organization, where the people at the very top make all the meaningful decisions; this creates a frustrating environment where there are lots of good ideas floating around, but no action taken to follow up on them. - the flat organization also makes it difficult for significant career advancement. Most stay as project analysts for a very long time. - as part of a technical audit firm, you'll see a variety of different projects; however, the challenges within your work are the same. you'll find yourself facing very similar challenges project after project. This is good if you like a routine, but not if you want true variety in your work. - the work is done individually. Your peers are friendly and collaborative in nature, but the work process and workload does not facilitate truly collaborative work. - they offer a sabbatical, which is a good benefit, except you are likely to not want to stick around long enough to use it. - exempt employees do not get paid overtime, but you will be expected to fill out a weekly timesheet. This timesheet must have exactly 40 hours; any hours worked above that are not recorded anywhere. Therefore, the managers have no good data on how long different scopes of projects take. Bad for business planning, and the employees carry this burden, and are not compensated for it. Overall, I learned some valuable lessons in IPA. However, it is not a good place for long term career growth, and comes with significant challenges.