Pros
- You’ll learn a ton - mostly because you’re doing the work of three people. Who needs boundaries when you can have “growth,” right? - Super diverse environment, thanks to the endless cycle of international hires who need sponsorship. Turns out survival trauma really brings people together. - You get very close to your peers because you’re all experiencing the same delightful cocktail of stress, burnout, and “figure it out yourself.” Trauma bonding at its finest. - Snacks in the office - because when you’re required to be onsite five days a week, you might as well have something to crunch on while drowning in work. - Free food during quarter-end, but only because there’s absolutely no time to get your own. Nothing says “we value you” like dinner at 10 p.m. while you’re still working.
Cons
- The workload is flat-out ridiculous. People aren’t treated like humans - they’re more like hardware that leadership expects to run 24/7 without updates or maintenance. - Senior employees have mostly been here since they graduated college, so they genuinely think this toxic environment is normal. And of course, they enforce it like it’s a sacred tradition. - Compensation is laughable compared to the workload. During raise discussions, they somehow always conclude that you just aren’t good enough yet. Gaslighting is practically part of the performance review process. - The industry niche is so narrow that looking at the EM directors is basically looking into your future: 0% life, 100% work. Inspiring, if you’ve always dreamed of becoming a cautionary tale. - Toxicity is fully normalized. They constantly hire fresh grads because it takes a while for people to realize they’re on a slowly sinking ship. And by the time they do, they’re usually already updating their resume.
