Pros
I love my job. As someone who is closely tied to autism and the autistic experience, I took this job knowing its challenges. Beyond the whirlwinds of chaos, there is something truly magical about seeing these kids blossom. At my center specifically, I can trust that anyone hired is a good soul, and there for the right reasons. I am lucky to be surrounded by little sweethearts and warm, compassionate colleagues within the RBTs and lower level management. I find the constant development of Soar as a company refreshing, as stagnancy is not a favorable trait when I am personally looking to stay at a job. The BCBAs I work alongside of are also doing an astounding job, both in practicality, and being present for their teams. The support is such a gift. You get plenty of treats like breakfast on the company, snacks in the pantries, surprise food and gift cards galore. They are wonderful about rewarding their employees. But…
Cons
On paper, Soar claims to be a compassionate and trustworthy company, pushing their core values of Trust, High Expectations, Belonging, Collaboration, Continuous Improvement, and Fun. Sometimes I question if the Higher Ups are living by these expectations as well. My gripe comes with the emotional intelligence of staff higher up on the hierarchy. When you reach out to people in HR, when you’re being scored in a DDC, when a big wig clinician comes to observe your center… there is an air of pressure. An air of arrogance, and air of “I’m too busy to deal with you.” Shockingly, this behavior is across the board. I find most higher ups are quite cold, emotionless, and even obviously annoyed. I understand that this job is high stakes, and it is growing exponentially fast… but you cannot push core values you do not live up to yourself. They are very judgemental and punishing. You advocate for yourself? Expect to get the cold shoulder! This goes for corporate. Ever since the mass expansions of clinics, the personable touch Soar used to have is slowly fading. I miss the warmth.