New York City

"Your experience will vary widely based on your agency/manager/team. You accumulate sick time pretty quickly which can be used when you and your family need medical care. For maternity leave, you can use Paid Family Leave and FMLA separately, which can last 18-20 weeks (mix of paid and unpaid). There are no premiums for health care coverage and co-pays are low. However, the network is limited. Overall, the City is an inflexible organization but the 9-5 culture is good for work-life balance."

"It’s a hard place. Extremely judgmental of anything that isn’t what higher ups think. They think salaries are great when they’re not for the direct service staff or competitive with even other City gov agencies. No annual cost of living increases. Any cost of living increase depends on the union renegotiating contract.Extremely hard to get a salary raise based on merit. You are supposed to live on the mission and never ask for more money."

"It is a very misogynistic environment and not healthy for women. Majority of women are only promoted for what they can do and offer the men in leadership positions. "

"New York City Fire Department review They provide equal opportunities. However, the culture is very male dominated and it can be difficult to get others to embrace female styles of working habits. But it’s possible. The culture is centered around the idea that more work, longer hours, is the path to better compensation and advancement opportunities."

"Keep in mind that for some levels you have to take a test to move up. For other spots, after you send in your resume, you sometimes have to wait patiently for years before you are moved up. "