Pros
I came to GSG straight out of college, and I couldn't have asked for a better job. I had no background in software or anything remotely technical, but I was drawn to the GSG because of the warm company culture and the promise of challenging and rewarding work. My experience has far exceeded those expectations. My co-workers are incredibly intelligent, hard-working, and genuinely caring people that make even tax collection and e-payment software a joy to work on. GSG invests a ton of time into each person at the company. For example, each employee will have weekly 1:1s with their team lead to focus on professional development (among other things), and management and C-level employees know you by name and what your strengths/weaknesses are. With all this attention on individuals, there's opportunity even for newer employees to take on new roles, projects, and responsibilities. GSG's philosophy is to place folks for new positions or projects based on an individual's potential rather than experience or seniority. In my experience, this allows huge professional growth opportunities for individuals and well-operating projects and teams. A fellow co-worker jokes that GSG is a terrible company to work for as your first job, because you don't know how good you have it. Even though I haven't been burned by cold corporate cultures, I am incredibly grateful that I found this opportunity.
Cons
GSG has high expectations for its employees, and because of that each individual a lot of autonomy. If you thrive in a work environment where you just execute what other people tell you to do, this is not a company for you. Each team member is held up to a clear set of expectations that can vary depending on your role, but you'll never be handed a set of instructions. With GSG's "bottom-up" management philosophy, you're expected to prioritize and decide how to accomplish your own work. That being said, you'll work very closely with your team lead and mentor to make sure you're meeting expectations, and you always have the support of your team or members of the management team to bounce ideas off of. With that level of autonomy there is risk of making the "wrong" decision, which can be intimidating. GSG doesn't shy away from failure; it's viewed and openly discussed as an important opportunity for learning. This is one of my favorite aspects of the company, but it's definitely not a good fit for everyone depending on your management preferences.
