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Focus School Software

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Awful company - Software Engineer Focus School Software Employee Review

1.0
5 Sept 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Chill dress code. And dress code is an extreme word. You can literally wear whatever you want, as long as it's not disrespectful.

Cons

Ok, where to begin.... To start, I've never seen such awful management. Don't be fooled by their "open door policy." By that, they mean you can walk in with an idea, and be turned down without discussion. This is a company that is filling the CEO's bank account and has absolutely ZERO desire to improve, innovate, and actually grow and be competitive on the national level. They are comfortable where they are, and that's the end of the story. Don't waste your time trying to think of better or cooler ways to do something, your input will not be heard. The CEO is completely incompetent and places incompetent employees in the highest levels of management. Of course this isn't true for everyone, but in a lot of cases is definitely true. As developers, quantity over quality is the absolute truth. If you are the type of person who likes to make sure your work is quality, you will not be a good fit here. As any respectable software engineer/developer knows, this leads to bugs and overall bad code. Which means your job will mostly consist of trying to fix other peoples poorly written code once it breaks something on production - which is almost always the case. Career development does not exist here. If you want to learn and have opportunities to grow as a developer and as a person, find somewhere else to work. In my time working there, I heard from my direct supervisor maybe once a month and had 0 performance reviews (or even an informal discussion of my performance). In the software industry, an average work week is about 40 hours per week. Expect to work 60+ hours a week with no compensation. Weekends are also not yours, you will often be required to work all weekend long in order to meet deadlines that were poorly communicated with you. It’s not uncommon to hear from your boss at 11 or 12 at night needing something done by the morning. Prepare for a severe caffeine addiction as lack of sleep will be a common thing unless you are strict with yourself and your boss that once the work day is over, the workday is over. A lot of the people here are great people. I've seen (and heard of) a lot of really talented developers quit due to truly awful management, absurdly low pay, and no company structure. The CEO doesn't learn from the past, and doesn't try to improve this environment in order to keep the talent he acquires.

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Focus School Software Response
8y
Dear Anonymous Former Employee, Focus is not for everyone, and most likely not for a person whose favorite aspect of a place to work is the “chill dress code”. Focus is not a large company and therefore we have to work hard, think outside the box, and go above and beyond to get the job done. Focus is not a place for slackers to just blend in and collect a paycheck. For those who DO work hard, Focus is very rewarding with increases, promotions, and bonuses. We do offer reviews, annually. If an employee has not worked here for a year, but requests an early review, we are always happy to accommodate them to the best of our ability. Communication is a two way street and we encourage those who are unclear of the expectations in their role to reach out to their direct supervisor for clarification. We also encourage the employees to find and maintain an appropriate work / life balance. This essentially requires the employee to commit to using their time at the office wisely, while also setting priorities for themselves. While there are occasions where emergencies arise, there is not an expectation that employees will work on the weekends or at midnight at the request of their boss. As far as not having an “open door policy” I could not disagree more. In fact I am looking at my door right now and it is open. People generally pop in just to say hi or pick up a piece of candy. You are always welcome to visit or arrange a time to discuss the reasons why you may be unhappy with any aspect of your job. Ideas from employees are heard and considered but as I'm sure you can understand, we cannot always acdommodate every suggestion from an employee. This does not mean that we do not encourage feedback to management. In any case, I am truly sorry that you had a negative experience at Focus. We have heard your suggestions and do not take your advice lightly. I hope that you find everything that you are looking for in your future endeavors. Steven Harnois Director of Operations

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Cons

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