Pros
-great benefits package (insurance, 401k) -salaries are well above the industry standard (asst designers start at 45K, sr designers can make as much as 120K) -pacsun is a widely recognized and established organization in the apparel/surf industry
Cons
-no room for growth -no creative freedom -no work/life balance -looooong hours -poor upper management -promotions are based on personal alliances rather than performance Pac Sun is desperately trying to reclaim/recreate it's glory days as the surf retail giant it once was. Unfortunately for it's employees that means countless hours of defining & redefining its customer base, and designing & redesigning styles (if you consider knocking off Urban Outfitters "designing"). The entire time I was there the direction was changed; causing us to redesign an entire season worth of styles constantly (that's 100-150 styles!). We literally designed one season 3 times! It was out of control... Along with the long hours and lack of direction, there was no positive reinforcement or any real motivation to stay all of it. After about 8 months of working 10-12 hour days regularly, I was told by my director that "there isn't a light at the end of the tunnel." I was there for 2 years with no promotion or pay raise in sight. Meanwhile, people with less talent and work ethic but better personal relationships with upper management seemed to be climbing the ladder steadily. It is painfully obvious that hard work is not valued at this company. A co-worker told me once "at Pacsun there are work horses and there are show ponies." i think that sums it up perfectly. I won't even get into the turnover rate, but needless to say, there are only 3 designers that are still working there since I left. My advice to anyone, especially designers, thinking about a career at pacsun is to consider not just the nice paycheck, but the hours, THE DESIGN DIRECTOR, and most importantly your work/life balance before accepting.