Pros
Benefits comparable industry-wide. Pay is also very competitive for the industry. More so for salaried associates rather than hourly associates. There is also a ridiculous amount of opportunity to have a 100K + a year job with little to no formal education. The time frame to reach management varies and isn't based on any specific departmental skill. You can reach SM position from any sub-department; CS, Deli, Meat, Grocery (which is the most difficult), Bakery, or Produce. The job is relatively easy though doing it well (no matter what you do) can prove challenging for people who; cannot provide good customer service, lack even marginal work ethic, lack follow through in terms of progressing their training and realizing their opportunities leading to positions of management. It's a family-like work environment in good ways such as supporting your growth with the company and in your personal life through community outreach programs like United Way. The job is also extremely hard to lose. Stability is a rarity these days and it requires a sub-par IQ to get fired from this job. Summary: Stock Options, Medical, Dental, 401k, enormous opportunity, four inventory bonuses a year, up to three weeks pay Christmas bonus (FT only -- which can be floated throughout the year), work-through vacations (if approved by management), prescription discount program, and as of recent, free Flu shots.
Cons
Management positions tend to be spoon-fed to any idiot who can pass a test. Training tends to come in the form of your manager dropping a questionnaire and an answer book in front of you and leaving you in the break room to complete it. Pay increases and decreases tend to be at the whim of your manager who more often than not has biased opinions towards you and it's usually seen on associate evaluations. Although this is not the "practice" Publix promotes -- it is something that can happen depending on the store you're at. Experience has taught me that due to certain lawsuits suffered by the company in passed years, you often wind up with dramatically under qualified, inexperienced people in management positions. Pressure to complete a nearly absurd amount of work in a very small amount of time does indeed exist. By measuring productivity through IPLH the inevitable result is goals that are virtually impossible to achieve. This leads to understaffed stores, empty shelves, low associate morale, and eventually dissatisfied customers. Being a family-like environment comes with it's downs as well; drama, fraternization, etc.