Avantages
It's a job. The company caters a lot of lunches; we never go hungry. We get perks/small gifts like shirts, mugs, calendars, stress balls (they come in handy), bags, etc. The company designs and builds pretty cool vehicles. We have a test track and shop where these vehicles are built. We have high level visitors that come to visit our site and take tours. We devote a lot of time and energy into company and employee safety. We have the first LEED certified company building in San Jose. Unlike other defense contractors, cell phones and electronic devices (such as ipods) are allowed in the buildings. We can even access our personal email websites, etc. We have the Performance Share Plan so when the company does well, we get money for it.
Inconvénients
It's defense. You never know what will happen to the funding...especially now since Obama is in office. There are a lot of contractors that work here and if you make one small error (as a contractor), you will be fired. Even as a direct, full-time employee, like myself, I am scared of losing my job over some stupid, silly, minor reason. Like if I come in to work at 8:15 instead of 8:00 am. I am salaried, not hourly, with no set time schedule, and I still feel like I am going to be punished for little things like that. Some websites are blocked due to bandwidth issues, that is a downside.