Pros
NOTE: I am going to actually stick to the idea of having a "Pros" and "Cons" section so if one side appears glowing and the other harsh please bear in mind which section you are reading. EMIT Technologies is an interesting and exciting place to work. Overall EMIT offered me a solid starting point for my career and I was given opportunities at EMIT that I doubt I would have gotten at other places. If you want to fast track you career and learn how world class professionals deliver elegant cost effective solutions then EMIT is the place. On the technical side of the house EMIT employs some incredible mechanical and software engineers, hailing from companies such as Boeing and Microsoft respectively. This breadth of talent has allowed EMIT to create technological solutions to problems that often defy belief. Because of this if you are willing to work hard at EMIT you can learn as much as you can fathom. During my time working for EMIT I was able to learn through hands on experience developing solutions using the MS enterprise stack of technologies. This included enterprise technologies, programming languages, and process analysis. Unlike many other companies if you prove that you are talented and committed to delivering results EMIT will not hesitate to give you even greater opportunities. During my time at EMIT I was able to help out in the Supply Chain department and take on a role typical reserved for seasoned veterans with years of experience. During this experience I learned more in a couple months than I likely would have in a year at another company. Overall EMIT was an amazing place for me to start my career and I feel like EMIT has prepared me for the world in a way that no amount of schooling could have. This is not to say I did not have my dark moments at EMIT and I did not make mistakes. Quite the contrary, EMIT gave me the opportunity and support to make those mistakes and for that I am truly grateful. I received incredible trust from my boss in business intelligence, the operations manager, the IT department, and all of my other co-workers. If there is one thing I will miss about EMIT it is the people. EMIT is a great company and I wish them the best of luck moving forward.
Cons
After reading the "pros" section of this review I would imagine the reader would ask, "Why would you leave EMIT". Therefore I will start by answering this question which will illuminate my criticisms of EMIT and areas where EMIT can improve. I left EMIT for a few reasons which are as follows in no particular order: pay, personal reasons, cultural issues, and position change. Pay- Overall EMIT pays well, but I quickly realized your compensation was based on how well you negotiated your starting salary, and any opportunity for more money could only really be obtained through position transfer. I think this is because there is not a formal review process, so as an employee it was difficult to know when asking for a raise was appropriate. Granted I was at EMIT for a short period of time, but the world no longer works on 1 year and 5 year time frames, at least not in the technology world. Therefore I would suggest quarterly reviews for office personnel and 6 months at a bare minimum. Personal Reasons- Sheridan is small. While it was good for me I found out after a lot of persistence that my Fiance would not be able to live in Sheridan. This had a big effect on my decision to change positions, but I cannot say it was the only reason I left. Also, my fiance saying "I will never live in Sheridan" and knowing I couldn't work remotely was kind of a big deal. Cultural Issues- EMIT is plagued by a culture where people do not feel appreciated for the work they do and are unsure about their future. For me I simply took on too much responsibility with very little support and crumbled a little. I vented, complained and ultimately accepted my situation, but not without losing a little of the joy that I had in my work. I took on ever more difficult projects and responsibilities and was not compensated for it. Compensation in this case did not have to be money but, could have also included a more flexible working environment. The reason I am putting this in the culture section is I was not alone in this feeling. It seemed that EMIT employees as a whole felt this way and perhaps that is just the nature of work. Ultimately, your employer will always extract economic rents from you, but I still want to believe that this exchange can feel equitable. Position Change- While at EMIT I was ask to take on a very different role than the one I was hired for. Ultimately I learned a lot from this role, but I quickly found myself missing my old position. At the time I didn't feel like I had any mobility within the organization and this influenced my decision to leave. I really enjoyed providing solutions providing information technology and I was and still am interested in being a developer. At EMIT I didn't feel like I would get to incorporate and develop these skills so this contributed to my departure. I will admit I did not communicate these things to management before I left so a lot of the blame for the situation rests with me. Looking back I should have been bold enough to state my grievances, but I sadly was not. Conclusion- Overall EMIT certainly has areas that need improvement, but after getting out and seeing how other operations function they are truly a world class company. I can say that I was foolish to not recognize what a world class organization I was at. EMIT was my first job out of my masters program and I think my departure was influenced heavily by my lack of real world experience. I will forge ahead and deal with the silliness that is the work place, but I will always be grateful to EMIT for the trust they put in me and the opportunities the gave me.