The office severely lacks any senior level staff and this is mostly due to inadequate and impersonal management. The female principal is especially brutal and unforgiving. As long as she gets what she wants and needs, she couldn’t care less about what hoops you have to jump through to get there. They think that having snacks in the office is a selling point to work for them, but in reality... it’s their only redeeming quality.
There is zero flexibility or trust. Hours are long, and uncompensated overtime is expected daily. They’ll hold it against you if you don’t come in early and stay late every day. Working remotely is usually not an option unless there is severe weather, but you can expect your computer activity to be monitored. Strict hours and inflexible schedules make personal appointments (doctors, dentists, etc) nearly impossible. Don’t expect to have any sort of personal life in the few spare hours you have outside of work. They’ll tell you that’s normal wherever you go… it’s definitely not and it’s unhealthy. They are no strangers to giving threats.
The turnover rate for designer and project manager positions is extremely high. This is mostly due to the cruelty of the female principal. Almost all of their project managers are just a few years out of college, mostly because they can’t hold onto any proper senior level staff with the right amount of experience. Projects are plentiful so it’s true that you won’t be twiddling your thumbs, bust most projects lack any kind of interesting aspects that keep designers excited or enthusiastic.
