Severe leadership gaps, unsustainable workloads, unorganized onboarding - Senior Digital Strategist Carnegie Dartlet Employee Review

The people are truly kind, collaborative, and mission driven. Everyone genuinely cares about supporting higher education and helping clients succeed, and that shows up in how teams work together day to day. There are a lot of smart people here, and the culture is collaborative rather than competitive. It feels like everyone wants each other to win. There are strong opportunities to work cross functionally, learn new skills, and try new ideas. There is also real room to fail, test new approaches, and learn without fear.

The pace is very fast. The work is good and meaningful, but it can feel intense at times. I also wish compensation were higher, especially given the speed and level of responsibility.

Carnegie offers a broad portfolio of solutions, providing employees with exposure to a wide range of projects and challenges, far more than many other organizations in the higher education consulting space. The company is also proactive about evolving alongside the changing higher education landscape, adapting its strategies and offerings to remain relevant and forward-thinking. One of Carnegie's greatest strengths is its people. In my experience, it's uncommon to work alongside so many colleagues who genuinely care about the quality of their work and the impact it has on clients. The organization is built on hardworking, supportive, and thoughtful individuals who are invested in each other's success. That culture has made a lasting impression on me and has been one of the most rewarding aspects of working at Carnegie.

The workload at Carnegie is extremely unsustainable. Over the past several years, my responsibilities have grown significantly every 6 months like clockwork, to the point where working evenings and weekends has become the norm just to stay afloat. The expectation is that high performers will continue taking on more work, but there is little corresponding increase in compensation, support, or opportunities for advancement. One of the biggest frustrations has been the disconnect between expectations and recognition. Despite consistently receiving positive feedback and being trusted with increasingly complex work, meaningful raises and promotions have been difficult to impossible to obtain. It took three years to get a 3% raise and title change (Carnegies idea of a promotion) AND I had to fight for internally for months. The unfortunate part is that I think my team did appreciate the work and wanted me to be recognized, however it is an unspoken truth that the reason people don't receive compensation is because the execs of the company don't want to spend the money and don't provide any budget for promotions (unless you are a Senior Director or higher...they seem to get a promotion at least once every year). Carnegie will find the cheapest way possible to produce the greatest outcome. Compensation is also below market for many roles. Based on my experience and research into comparable positions, I believe I could earn substantially more elsewhere while carrying a more manageable workload. That gap has become increasingly difficult to justify given the expectations placed on employees. Since Carnegie was acquired by a private equity firm, I've experienced a noticeable increase in workload and pressure. Resource constraints often leave teams understaffed, and even after communicating that I had reached capacity, additional work was still assigned because there were few or no alternatives. Over time, this has contributed to burnout and declining morale across every department. I used to LOVE this place and would often brag to others outside of work on how lucky I was to be a part of such a great company. It's shocking how that couldn't be farther from the truth now. For anyone considering working at Carnegie, I strongly advice you to read the reviews.