Great career transition but tough 5-year commitment - Air Traffic Controller US Marine Corps Employee Review

The work was typical for the role, with the usual Government systems and a lot of Excel and SharePoint use. My team and the department I worked with were all great, and we collaborated very well together. The department celebrated achievements and had social lunches, too, which was nice. I liked knowing I was supporting our Marines through my work. The perks of government jobs are always nice, too!

Not very much negative to say. There were some bumps in the road when new management came on, but things eventually smoothed over. I only left because I moved out of state and couldn't work remotely.

Food and housing allowance, TRICARE. As much bleached swamp water as you can drink.

Basically everything else. Quality of life is nonexistent, incredibly toxic commands are frequent. It's common place to be belittled and berated for simple things like, not shaving against the grain. Don't think about having a family and if you do, don't expect the organization to care about their genuine wellbeing. At least, nothing beyond what would land leadership in hot water or require them to do paperwork. Strict adherence to standards and culture are mandatory. Unsolicited advice from individuals who have never experienced the civilian world will make it seem that life is over the moment you EAS. Brotherhood? Not really. It gets really stuffy around beyond the staff non-commissioned officer barrier. Do you like attending multiple meetings per day that could have just been an email? How about going on "death-runs" at 4am? A general sense of purposelessness and questioning your life decisions? How about knowing that all of your contributions will result in having zero genuine impact on society as a whole? At least it's good to know that most of your peers are in the same boat, just trying to hang in there until retirement. Your career is always the subject of being taken away at a moments notice. Opinions are not issued to you, so you do not rate one. Brown-nosing is expected for people who have shiny ranks on their collar because they graduated college. If somebody with more rockers, or someone with a star or a diamond instead of cross rifles inside their rank insignia takes issue with you personally, your professional life will be a waking hell.