Fired for extended sick leave - User Experience Architect Productive Edge Employee Review

- Wasn't given the opportunity to do the job for which I was hired - Joel (managing partner) created a culture where semi-weekly "coaching" sessions were implemented and my job security was continually put into question - No clear focus, project goals seemingly changed minute-to-minute - Clear lack of professional environment. In my first week there, senior managers were doing shots and getting paddled with a wooden board on a "team outing" which resembled more an excuse to promote some perverse cult of personality they were trying to foment about themselves. Protip: Have a personality worth admiring before acting like you're worth worshiping. - Delivering a system to Sears 10 years ago doesn't qualify you to be the be-all, end-all font of knowledge that you assume to be. - Fired after getting the flu, with the reason "my absence was a distraction to the team", which consisted solely of a Project Manager, the President of ThinkTime and the managing partner. Luckily, during that week that I had the flu I finalized an offer with another company which had been asking after my services for awhile. The distaste was mutual, but the reasoning for the firing was ludicrous. - If you have any sort of ongoing medical issues (I'm diabetic), better ensure that you can afford your own life, AD&D and other supplementary insurances, as I was declined for all of these by their abominable insurance providers - Expect long hours. At one point I was working from 2:00 AM to 11:30 AM daily to sync up with the Ukrainian team. - The good pay that they offered was more than offset by the fact that they didn't pay for any of the typical things a successful company would, such as a decent health insurer. I get that you feel it makes you "cool" to have beer in the fridge and rent out boats to take the company out on Lake Michigan, but insurance would have been even cooler. - You're going to feel like a cog in a machine, and you'll likely feel valued as much. It was made clear to me several times that the only reason I had a job is that the managing partner was too busy to do my job for me. He took every opportunity he could to prove to me that he was better at my job than I was. Woe be to those who work at PE in any sort of BA/PM or design capacity. Dark days ahead.