Pros
A sense that you are helping to create a better world and helping people to save money. Elon Musk of Tesla's vision of the future is inspiring.
Cons
I hate this company. I have worked in the San Diego office of SolarCity for 6 months in the role of FES (getting leads in Home Depot stores) and 6 months in the role of FEC (selling solar in the homes). They lied to me from the very first moment about income potential and the possibility for advancement. The training is the worst I've ever seen in any company I've ever worked for. We literally train each other at no pay. Their corporate philosophy is churn 'em and burn 'em, chew' em up and spit 'em out. They never once have sent the message to us that we are valued or that we make a contribution. Their message has always been: You are expendable, you are replaceable. They are incapable of praise. I feel like a race horse that's being whipped for the finish line... but I never get to the finish line. So I never get to rest. They manage by fear (a better word would be terror). I have been sick to my stomach for the last 2 months from stress. Everybody I know works 7 days a week to stay competitive. Just when you reach the Finish Line, they move it. In December of 2016 they doubled the quota by netting all the sales numbers. This was new. Up until this point, quota was 5 sales per month. They are raising it to 6 in February of 2017. Since half of the sales cancel before they install, you would have to get 8 sales to net 5. And once the quota goes up to 6 in February, you will have to get 9 sales to net 6. Only about 10% to 20% of the sales force can even achieve this number, and then it's a record, not sustainable on a monthly basis. I can't imagine what they're thinking. They're going to have to fire 80% of their sales force because almost no one is meeting quota, even working seven days a week. I work 7 days a week, I have no quality of life, I have stopped working out, I don't eat healthy anymore, I have a rash on my face from the stress of working here, I never get to see my wife. On top of it the pay socks. And they don't value me. As an FES I was told that I could earn $5000 to $6,000 a month. The truth: I earned $2000 to $3,000 a month by working tons of overtime and 12 hour days, and I was always one of the top three people on my team. As an FEC, I was told in my interview that I could make $186,000 a year. It was a bald-faced lie and they knew it. Even the #1 sales person in the nation in 2015, who made that much in the Gold Rush boom days of solar, is not making anywhere near that. He's only making about $70,000 today. So they lied right to my face and they knew it. This is a toxic culture of lies and broken promises and grinding people into dust. Every promise they have ever made to me has been broken. You may be wondering... Am I successful? Or am I just a negative loser, a sour grapes whiner? Let me put it this way. Last July as an FES I was #1 in the region. As an FEC, I am on the #1 team in the region and in December I was tied for second place. I beat the guy who was number one in the nation last year. I have always been at 120% to 200% of quota. I think they ought to let you know that you are valued and making a contribution, but all they do is beat you down. No matter how hard you work, it's never good enough. I hate this company. I plan to resign very soon and it will be good riddance to bad rubbish. I'm going to fire them because they are not meeting my expectations. They're falling below my quota for honesty, integrity, quality of life, and paycheck size. Of course, no surprise, I hear they even challenge unemployment claims as a standard practice. So if you leave SolarCity, document everything with screenshots and be ready to fight. My advice: You will make more money and have a higher quality of life at almost any other job. That includes working at the garbage dump.
