The organization and leadership structure are where things fall apart. There is an overwhelming culture of fear, burnout, and office politics. Employees are frequently fired or pushed out, even when they are performing well, and the turnover creates an environment where employees constantly feel replaceable rather than valued.
The workload is extremely demanding. I regularly worked 70 to 80 hour weeks, and while the pay can make it feel worth it for a while, burnout happens fast. This is not a role I would recommend for someone with children or anyone seeking work life balance.
Weekend trainings were also mandated, which is understandable in a high performance environment, but leadership often showed very little empathy around personal situations. Employees were penalized for missing due to serious family emergencies, including situations involving hospitalized of immediate family members.
One of the more discouraging things I witnessed was college interns being let go in the middle of their internships, not due to performance, but simply because leadership wanted to “refocus” the organization. It damaged long standing university relationships and put some interns at risk of missing out on college credit they were depending on.