Avantages
Student Experts seems to have begun with a great vision--one that aimed to foster college students' transition from the world of academia to the professional world. For a while, it was good. The company took the idea of an "open door" policy and ran with it, creating an environment where employees felt like they were a part of something meaningful, and more than just cogs in a machine. The company gave qualified students an opportunity to build experience, develop skills, make a living wage, and work in a company that was the model of what every startup wants to be. One of Student Experts biggest strengths is the lax atmosphere within its walls. With ample space, flexible hours, a kitchen stocked with gourmet food, craft beer, and plenty of coffee and beverage options, you'll be hard-pressed to find a more comfortable work atmosphere. The office is beautiful, well-lit, has a lovely view of the mountains, and somehow makes cubical life comfortable. A notable strength that must be underscored at Student Experts is the healthcare offered to every salaried employee. You don't pay a dime out of pocket, and this is a luxury offered by few companies these days. The plan is more than suitable for the young crowd of employees at SE, and is one thing that will keep you there long after you may wish to move on with your professional life. Starting compensation for full-time staff is very reasonable considering skill expectations. The editors do a lot of the heavy lifting, and key writers who have been with the company for years are capable of keeping the workload in check most days. This leaves more room for the company to test new writers, who with a decent comprehension of grammar, tone, and research (as well as the ability to follow a style guide) can easily make it onto the staff. However, if you can't take feedback (and you shouldn't consider yourself a writer if you can't), this isn't the right career path for you.
Inconvénients
The biggest problem with this company lies within the inability of the management to see its own missteps, miscalculations, and wastefulness. Beyond this, there is a strong culture of favoritism in which some employees have been hired not based on merit and skill, but because they know the management or rubbed someone the right way despite lacking applicable experience. While this approach to hiring may create a staff of brand and management loyalists--certainly a strength in the early stages of a company--it has led Student Experts into a pit of inter-employee resentment, wasteful spending, and dysfunction. Definition of roles, responsibilities, and expectations should have happened years ago. Compensation is another area of discontent. What appears to be an across-the-board freeze on raises has been in place for entirely too long, and its end has been defined by vague parameters the company may never reach. It is difficult to defend such a freeze when "chosen" staff receives compensation beyond its worth while other employees the company depends on to generate revenue continue to meet resistance any time the topic of compensation is raised. One of the key problems at Student Experts fueling the fire of unhappiness is that the management does not understand these issues and is unwilling to entertain the possibility that failure (at least with the existing staff) is a very real possibility if these problems are not addressed. Student Experts is not the hip, casual, and kindhearted company it once was, and is instead transforming into an out-of-touch machine that overlooks talent, sets morale-crushing expectations, and seems to fires at will without justification.