Pros
I loved many of the projects that I worked on and my relationships with my clients. It was fun working with others who shared my passion for the English language, grammar, and documentation. The office was close to home, which made the commute very convenient in an otherwise hectic metro Atlanta commute.
Kontras
Expected to log at least 40 hours of billable-only work. Non-billable tasks, such as administrative tasks, were discouraged. I had to account for every quarter hour of my work day. So, if I ate lunch or went to the restroom, I had to make up that time on the back end of the day in order to meet the 8 hours. If billable work was slow, we were told to go home and use our PTO to complete our timesheet. Prior to starting work, I was told that I would make one salary, and then when I received the contract, the listed salary was $2,000 less than verbally agreed upon. No reparations were made for the issue until nearly one year later; I received no back pay. This company thrives on a shallow business practice of hiring newly graduated college students (who, at the time, are very thankful for an opportunity when having little to no prior experience) and paying nearly $20,000 less than the industry standard in the metro Atlanta area. The personnel is an ever-swinging door. While I worked there, the person with the longest tenure on the projects team had only been there for less than two years, even though the company has been around for more than 20 years. One major con is that there is absolutely no room for career growth. One cannot plan a long-term career at this company unless she is satisfied with no opportunity for development, promotion, or growth. I was employed at this establishment for more than two years and never received a raise, bonus, or other incentive to stay. Keep in mind I was given more "responsibility" of managing projects and a team of writers and editors, with no job title change or compensation. I was expected to do more work for the same pay and no real incentive. The office culture is very Christian-conservative. While neither of these directly offend me in general, attitude and inclusion toward individuals with other values and beliefs were ostracized and shunned. I've even heard anti-gay remarks. They pray at every morning meeting, so if you are of a different religion, this may be uncomfortable. The owner of this company expressed in a team meeting: "We are not politically correct, and I like it that way." I have managed projects and served as a resource on projects where the company forced us to overcharge our clients--billing them for time not worked simply to use up all allotted hours in the budget. One project was nearly $15,000 under budget, and the project team was told to make up work so that we could bill the full amount. When the project manager expressed her disapproval, she was quickly dismissed and even reprimanded. At one point when the project team was low on billable work, we were handed a list of names and telephone numbers and told to make cold calls to these individuals whose contact information they poached off the Internet. Imagine a troupe of writers and editors calling strangers, asking if they had anything that needed "edited." Needless to say, it was embarrassing for both the caller and the receiver of the call. I digress.