Reflections 1+ years after being fired from a FT position
Pros
In a managerial position, because the company retains a lot of start up elements while it's trying to scale, there are a lot of high leverage impacts that can be made. However, if you're not management, you're just another number. I think the company's mission is to provide resources to level the playing ground for the edtech space in terms of bring equity to people who cannot pay for classes/tutoring, however the profit-seeking mentality of upper management significantly hinders the actualization of this equity. I am always grateful for the career developing and leadership developing opportunities at the company, but before you decide to work here, please read the CONS section. I made good money though so that's nice.
Cons
As someone who was responsible for kickstarting the tutoring program from scratch, building it up from the landing page, being the first tutor, conducting sales, and building the processes to ensure that we can scale with the 30+ tutors that I hired, I think there is a lot of validity when I say: Jack Westin is a company that you will want to get in and out of to fulfill financial requirements while you're between school and medical school, but nothing more. I set up the infrastructure of the tutoring program, tried to ensure that tutors were compensated fairly, but I was constantly pressured with the directive to poach tutors from competing companies as well as find ways to minimize costs paid to the tutors. This was my first job after graduating from my masters, and I was compensated well with profit share for tutoring sales, but soon I. realized that it was an incentive to align my motivation with that of the execs: drive profit at all costs - tutor rewards for getting good scores, positive student experiences, fair business practices - all were thrown out the window. Tutors would be expected to close sales, and there was a constant pressure to drive students who cannot financially afford packages to give their purchase information. This is reasonable in the world of SaaS, however, in a field where beneficence is emphasized and equity is important, this company has further exacerbated the gap in terms of helping increase the diversity of experiences for physicians. The product is good, although could be a lot better if proper agile and product management practices were followed, and the tutoring team was a pleasure to interview, hire, and work with. I'm so happy that I got to create a system that now helps hundreds of students achieve their dreams of being a doctor, but I am also very disappointed that I couldn't usher more representation to ensure that people from all walks of life could embark on the medical journey that I once dreamed of. The company management is a joke, but if you have a good manager, they will shield you from the bureaucracy and passive aggressiveness and gaslighting that will be passed down from upper management. Come in to make money to fund the period of time between graduation and medical school, and leave as soon as you find a greater purpose in life beyond financial profitability. After working at the company for 8 months (including only one 1-week vacation that I was fired shortly after and constant working on weekends), I was ultimately let go for having a different vision than management and luckily compensated with 2 months of severance. If you're just a contract worker, don't expect anything.
