employer cover photo
employer logo
employer logo

Aperture Foundation

Is this your company?

Aperture Foundation reviews

3.5

50% would recommend to a friend

(17 total reviews)

Chris Boot

59% approve of CEO

26% positive business outlook

Aperture Foundation has an employee rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars, based on 17 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Aperture Foundation employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Media & Communication industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

17 reviews
3.0
Jan 6, 2015

Great people, but not for the faint of heart

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

All photography all the time. Everyone who works here is highly engaged with the field internationally and is very committed to the organization. A very active place with lots of events and chances to learn more about photography, interact with artists/photographers/authors/curators, and gain valuable and unique insight into the workings of a publisher, gallery space, and non-profit all at once (not a lot of places have that mix). Many people have been here quite a long time, which could be seen seen as either a pro or con, but it's worth noting that some people find serious job stability. People often take on several roles within their position. This could be seen as a con (see below), but also a pro in that it's possible for a highly motivated person to take initiative and develop their professional skills more than at other organizations. There is also lots of cross-departmental work, no matter what job you have. You know everyone in the office and have worked with them at some point. Everyone is genuinely nice, and it's like a family even when there's professional dissension.

Cons

A large portion of the staff is overworked. This doesn't just relate to workload (which is all NGOs and most professional jobs in NYC), but also people's roles not being well-defined and often encompassing what would be 2-4 positions at another organization. No one does just one job and does it well. This is mostly a result of too many projects happening at one time in relation to staff resources and budgets, as well as projects not being thought out thoroughly and in advance. There isn't much room for career growth, unless you're in the editorial department, where there's a little more flexibility (This is probably because these jobs are the most specialized and therefore, the most valued). Staff morale can be low because people feel overloaded and like it's nearly impossible to do a good job. In a staff full of dedicated people and perfectionists, this is a real downer!

5.0
Mar 4, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Everyone there loves photography and has a lot of fun talking about it and discussing it. Some of my most interesting conversations on the subject happened there. It's a thrilling place to be. If you love photography, you'll love spending your nights and weekends with creatives and conversationalists... but if you don't, you might just be frustrated with the lack of personal time.

Cons

As with NGO's everywhere, the questions of funding can be a little overbearing. Overall though, I was extremely pleased with how true to their mission they were.

Viewing 16 - 17 of 17 Reviews

Glassdoor has 31 Aperture Foundation reviews submitted anonymously by Aperture Foundation employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Aperture Foundation is right for you.