Pros
Benefits, benefits, benefits. This goes a huge way toward offsetting salaries which may or may not be as stellar as the benefits. In the engineering department, things are generally well managed. Additionally, AWeber offers engineers the opportunity to work with cutting edge technologies on a very large scale. Outside of major markets like NY or SF, there are few companies in that class in the Philadelphia suburbs.
Cons
The main problem is that the company is addicted to firing. The CEO, when asked in an interview what his advice to new start-ups is, said not to be afraid to fire employees. The interview is available online for all to see. He didn't offer technical advice or guidance on securing financing; he told prospective start ups to be better at lay-offs. And AWeber certainly has this down to a science. There have been two major rounds of firing at AWeber and I'm sure there will be more in the years to come. The first mass firing primarily affected the Customer Service department and was brought about when management reviewed chat logs of private exchanges between employees discussing negative feelings toward the company (admittedly on the company IM, but private conversations nonetheless). The second large round of firing affected the engineering department and apart from the fact that a large number of senior engineers was included, seemed almost random. Interspersed between these firings were numerous other one-offs. Despite any claims to the contrary, it is obvious that the company is no longer interested in the long-term well being of its employees. When you have fired so many employees that you have the process down to a science, that is likely a bad sign. For prospective employees of the company, AWeber can be an excellent choice, especially for those getting started with an engineering career. It will look great on your resume and you will learn a lot (and possibly make more money than you might elsewhere). For those with families, consider whether you want to take the risk working for a CEO who so blatantly promotes a philosophy of employees as a disposable commodity.
