A good mission led by ignorant leadership - Anonymous employee CodeHS Employee Review

1.0
22 July 2024
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The CodeHS site/overall product is pretty decent, and has been successful in K-12 CS/tech classrooms. There's plenty of room for it to be improved on the engineering side of things, but could be much worse / less-developed. The vast majority of the people that work at the company are great, and fun to hang out with during company meetups, on calls, etc.

Cons

Where to start... The two founders - the current CEO and CTO - are comically unaware of how to run a company in today's world (and is also extremely apparent that they've never worked real jobs, and have only known this company from graduating college). From my first day to the last, I've been made painfully aware - through my own experiences and talking with others who are working there - how much of a dissonance there is between the workers and the leadership, especially ones working at the Chicago office. Around 80%-85% of the company currently works remotely, with the other ~20% working at the Chicago HQ office. This is in-person 5 days a week, with little to no benefits/differences in perks from the remote employees. The CEO is an unaware, micromanaging figurehead that consistently gets questioned and laughed at behind his back across the company - all warranted. Any valid criticism, questioning hypocritical policies, or general feedback about the company is thrown in the trash. The managers and directors - as well as the Head of Operations - are parrots for what he wants and says. There have been multiple cases of "perks" being offered and then changed, especially in the Chicago office. When you look at the rest of the remote employees and what they're allowed to do, the hypocrisy of Chicago office policies (five-day-a-week RTO for tenured employees who were previously hybrid, little to no flexibility for doctors appointments or life events, an overall lack of empathy or understanding) is salt in the wound for that group of employees, who are under an insane amount of scrutiny compared to the rest of the (remote) company. In terms of directors and managers, the quality will VERY much depend on the team/org you're on.

Explore other reviews about CodeHS

5.0
20 May 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great people, collaborative culture, and meaningful work in education. There are a lot of opportunities to grow professionally and take ownership of projects. Leadership encourages innovation and new ideas, especially around emerging technology and AI tools, which makes the work feel exciting and forward-thinking. Team members are supportive, smart, and genuinely care about helping schools and students succeed.

Cons

The pace can be fast and priorities can evolve quickly, but it creates a lot of opportunities for people who enjoy wearing multiple hats, learning new things, and contributing across different areas of the business.

4.0
27 May 2025
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Working at CodeHS has been a largely positive experience. The company has a strong, education-focused mission and hires genuinely kind, talented people—many of whom are former educators, which fosters a shared sense of purpose. The benefits are solid, the workload is very manageable, and the healthy work/life balance is a standout perk. I also appreciate the company’s proactive stance on emerging technologies like AI and its commitment to sustainable, responsible growth rather than chasing short-term wins. Additionally, remote employees have the opportunity to visit the Chicago office a few times a year for team meetups, which helps foster connection and a sense of community despite working from home.

Cons

That said, there are areas for improvement. The remote work experience—while still positive—feels notably different from the in-office one, and some policies seem inconsistent or unexplained depending on your location. While the company was once proudly remote-first, there has been a recent shift toward hiring primarily for in-office roles, without clearly explaining the rationale. For a company focused on serving schools across the country, a remote-first policy arguably makes more strategic sense, as it enables team members to support a broader and more diverse set of districts. Additionally, some internal practices—like the daily “what did you do today” check-in—can feel overly micromanage-y and at odds with the otherwise high-trust environment.

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