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Valerio Architects

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Micromanagement Central - Anonymous employee Valerio Architects Employee Review

2.0
Feb 13, 2017
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great location. A lot of good people pass through here but most of them don't last long. Casual small firm atmosphere. Although things often lean toward the unprofessional side. This is a fast pace high turnover sink or swim kind of place. It isn't for everyone. The potential is there. Unfortunately the growing pains of a small firm with newly found success is still very visible.

Cons

Don't be fooled by the advertised career advancement potential or the big happy family act. The turnover in this office is unreal for a reason. Consider yourself warned. Most of the managers in place are not there by merit but simply longevity. Choose your allies carefully. Do not trust the cheery online reviews. Management wrote or had admin write those with the promise of free lunch. This is an executive interior architecture firm. Don't expect to design anything. This is not a learning environment. Mentoring is confused here with being condescending and derogatory. Be prepared to be heavily micromanaged and put down. Most of the people in this office did not go to an accredited architecture school and have no intention of ever getting licensed. Also if you are plan on reporting training hours, your first 6 months will not be signed off on. Company policy. Unless you're doing Starbucks CDs you will be wasting your time drafting in Powercadd (awful but cheap program no one in the industry uses)

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Valerio Architects Response
5y
Thank you for providing feedback on your experience at Valerio Architects! We are sorry to hear your feedback was critical in multiple areas. Over 50% of our team has been with the firm for over 5 years, a majority of which have experienced promotions and increased their positions through hard work. We highly promote learning and support being self-driven but also team oriented. Resources are available to help ensure the success in each level position. We appreciate your feedback and are confident the points concerned are not applicable to today’s team.

Explore other reviews about Valerio Architects

5.0
Jan 1, 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The team is full of dedicated professionals of all levels. We handle nationwide projects with well-known brands. The projects are challenging and fast paced, team members get to see the process from start to finish. Valerio has grown recently expanding our international offices, New York City and Los Angeles teams and we look forward to Valerio’s 30th anniversary 2024. The team is a truly a great group and very focused.

Cons

This is fast paced and detail oriented work. It is not a con specifically but I wanted to note it for anyone who is not motivated or does not want to be challenged to stay away. Valerio very much promotes from within so it is a great place to start young and grow in the profession.

1
2.0
Jul 17, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

If you’re early in your career or looking to get your foot in the door, this can be a decent place to gain experience and build your resume.

Cons

In my experience, the company suffered from excessive micromanagement. Many executives appeared to spend the majority of their time in meetings while remaining disconnected from the day-to-day work. Decisions were often slow, priorities changed frequently, and employees had little autonomy to do their jobs effectively. Compensation was another major concern. I felt salaries were not competitive with the workload and expectations, and there was little transparency around pay or opportunities for meaningful increases. I also had concerns about the company's wage classification practices. It seemed that many employees were classified as salaried even though, based on my understanding of their roles and responsibilities, some may have been more appropriately classified as hourly. I would encourage prospective employees to understand how their position will be classified and whether it aligns with applicable labor laws. Finally, I was concerned that the company appeared to rely heavily on employees working under employment visas in positions that, in my opinion, were compensated below market rates. While I cannot speak to the company's intentions, the overall impression was that this practice contributed to lower wages across all roles.

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