Pros
-Lead designers I worked under are extremely knowledgeable -They foster a mentorship between young designers and their lead designers that can prove to be extremely advantageous -Benefits were average for industry, no frills but good in comparison (decent health insurance, dental insurance, tiered bonus potential, 401k, PTO, personal days, closed during the holidays) -Flexible work hours (you can pick your daily hours within reason as long as you're there during that time) and they're lenient about needing to leave the office for personal reasons on occasion. -Very high-end, detail-oriented projects that provide good opportunities to learn and good additions to any portfolio -Management puts in a lot effort to create an enjoyable work environment (company outings, managing workloads, open communication, team initiatives) -If you have the skills, there's room for growth to prove yourself and take on responsibility that other companies can require years to earn for younger designers -Location -Half-day Fridays all summer (you are required to work an extra hour every other day to still meet the 40 hours) -Most projects require the designers to travel at some point either for site visits or installations -Low turnover rate -Free weekly lunches and industry events
Cons
-Communication between upper management and employees as well as internally with teams can be inefficient at times but has gotten better -Benefits when compared to some younger or larger companies are lacking (no personal phone plans, no commuter benefits, no "wellness" benefits, no working from home allowed, etc.) -Because the company is busy, there's a lot of work to be done. Nothing extreme but you can't expect to clock in at 9 and out at 5 every single day and get your workload done. -Some of the clients can be hyper-emotional and extremely demanding. I think the management does put in effort to tame this, but at the end of the day, it's a client service business and there's only so much that can change.